


Paper-Thin Disguise

by cyanspade



Category: Kissed By the Baddest Bidder, Voltage Inc - Fandom, Voltage Inc. - All Media Types, スイートルームで悪戯なキス | Kissed By the Baddest Bidder
Genre: Denial of Feelings, Disguise, F/M, Fluff, One-Sided Attraction, Slow Burn, Slow Dancing, Teasing, Undercover Boss AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-06-17
Packaged: 2018-09-14 05:33:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9164323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyanspade/pseuds/cyanspade
Summary: “That’s pretty unreasonable if you ask me. He sounds like a cruel boss,” Hikaru added with faux disappointment, staring right at Eisuke for effect.This bastard.Eisuke could feel sweat form at the back of his neck. Why was he getting nervous? He had no reason to feel bad at all. Yup, he had no reason to start feeling guilty for overworking her after all this time—“Well, I admit he’s a somewhat difficult person, but I don’t think he’s a completely bad person,” a voice remarked.





	1. I'm Not As Bad As You Think I Am

**Author's Note:**

> **a/n:** Watching the Star Wars Undercover Boss skit from SNL really got me thinking how Eisuke would be like if he actually tried working at his own hotel lmaooo (¬‿¬) I might have bullied him a bit here again, but oh well ヽ(゜∇゜)ノ I hope you guys enjoy! It’s fun imagining an awkward Eisuke lolol

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eisuke was definitely not the most hospitable person, but maybe working at the Tres Spades for a day would change that. _Hopefully._

* * *

               “Looks like the Tres Spades is number one in the hotel rankings again, Eisuke,” Soryu commented as he held up a tablet for all to see.

               “Of course. It’s _my_ hotel, after all.”

               The past month had been hectic for the penthouse crew. Everyone had to put in extra effort to make sure the judging of the Tres Spades went smoothly. Soryu and Mamoru beefed up security, Baba had to fill in for one of the bellboys, and even Ota used his charisma to win over the judges. They were all glad that their efforts paid off in the best possible way. Eisuke, in particular, was practically beaming.

               “That’s great and all, but don’t you think this is all a bit ironic?” Ota asked, seemingly inquisitive.

               “What is?” Eisuke grew a bit defensive at the younger man’s question.

               “Well, the Tres Spades gets the number one spot for Best Hotel every year, but the owner of the hotel is probably the least accommodating person I know,” Ota added sardonically.

               Eisuke shot him a suspicious glare. “Me? _Not_ accommodating? Are you serious?”

Mamoru and Baba tried to stifle their laughter, but Eisuke gave them the stink-eye to shut them up.

               “You’re also unfriendly, cold, and impatient.”

               “Not helping, _Soryu_ ,” Eisuke said with gritted teeth.

               In retrospect, Eisuke knew he didn’t have the most—well—amicable personality, but he honestly didn’t think it was _that_ bad. Everyone had a little bit of ‘asshole’ in them, right? Much to his surprise (and dismay), the other bidders thought otherwise. 

               “It’s not my job to be the smiling face around here. My employees can do that for me,” the CEO declared coldly. On the other hand, Baba seemed to be deep in thought. The thief gave Eisuke a mischievous look. 

              “Hey, boss. I have an idea,” Baba piped up. _Always a bad sign._

              “Please don’t tell me,” Eisuke replied, not wanting any part in the looming foolishness.

              “Aw, but come on! This will be a chance to prove your hospitality. All you have to do is pretend to be part of housekeeping staff for a day.” Baba pointed finger guns at the now-scowling man. The rest of the bidders were already snickering visibly. The thief just dug himself a grave.

_Baba, I swear—_

              “ _Rejected_. Like hell I’m going to subject myself to that,” Eisuke pointed out. The idea was pure idiocy. 

              “But wouldn’t it be nice to see how things work around here up-close?” The thief winked playfully. “Maybe you could even get some juicy employee gossip.”

              “ _No_.” __

              “Now that’s a shame,” Baba shrugged. “I was planning to steal the Blue Moon necklace for the auctions if you did. 

_Shit_. Baba knew Eisuke was dying to get his hands on the necklace for a while now. It was extremely difficult to retrieve, knowing the ridiculous security around it. Only Baba knew how and where to get it. 

_Damn him for using that against me. That sly bastard—_

              “That’s the spirit, Boss! I knew you’d love my idea!”

              “... You’ll pay for this— _stop laughing!_ ”

* * *

              The next day came, and Eisuke was already regretting his decision.  The other bidders, however, were more than pleased to bear witness his ensuing mortification.  Ota had him wear a black wig and glasses, while Baba managed to get his hands on a spare uniform. The disguise was convincing enough, thanks to Ota’s makeup skills, but Eisuke’s trademark scowl never left his face.

              “I swear, I’m going to _end_ you all when I’m done with this farce,” Eisuke threatened.

              “Yeah, yeah, Boss. You’d better get going now!” Baba jubilantly replied.

              Eisuke was sure those guys were going to have a blast watching him suffer through the surveillance cameras. Hell, they’d probably place bets on how long he’d last the day. Well, screw them, he thought. He was going to make it through the day perfectly and effortlessly. After all, there was nothing the great Eisuke Ichinomiya couldn’t do.

_Hopefully._

              He made it to the staff room to have the briefing and resisted the urge to make a grand entrance. Kenzaki, of course, knew about the whole ordeal and kept his lips sealed with an enigmatic smile. The other staff members noticed him enter the room, only to gush about the ‘new guy’ right away. However, _____ narrowed her eyes at him for a bit, looking as if though she had seen him somewhere before.

_Crap, if she sees through the disguise—_

              “Everyone, please settle down. I have an announcement to make,” Kenzaki stated. The rest of the personnel immediately kept quiet.

              “This is Keisuke Ichinose—“ Eisuke visibly cringed at the name—“ and starting today, he’ll be working with us as a part-time houseman. I hope you all can properly show him the ropes in housekeeping,” Kenzaki pleasantly said.

              Eisuke (reluctantly) gave a small bow to the others, and they bowed back in turn. This was going to be a long day. 

* * *

               He had no idea changing bed sheets had its own rigorous system. 

              Hell, it seemed _everything_ in housekeeping had a strict system to follow, and he was learning it the hard way. Apparently, the sheets had to be a certain shade of white in order to be used, and every pillow had to have a specific firmness to it. 

              While he did feel a swell of pride knowing his staff strived for perfection, he mostly felt frustration at the fact that he _absolutely sucked_ at fixing beds. His currently pissed ‘co-worker’—Erika, if he remembered correctly—didn’t make it better.

              “You’re supposed to place the duvet cover exactly three inches from the headboard, newbie! This is basic stuff. Didn’t they teach you that?” Erika commented harshly. _If only she knew who she was screaming at—_

              “Can you maybe stop yelling at me? You’re distracting me right now!” Eisuke snapped. He would definitely ask Kenzaki to review her salary _very_ thoroughly later. 

              “Erika. I’ll take over from here. You can go help Chisato out at Room 235,” suggested ____. Her patience with both Erika and Eisuke in the same room was a legendary feat in itself. 

              “Whatever. Just make sure he—“ Erika pointed an accusing finger at ‘Keisuke’—“doesn’t screw up. Mr. Kenzaki will yell at us if this guy ruins everything.”

              “Yeah, I got it.”

              When Erika finally left, Eisuke gave one last glower at the door before turning back to the poorly-made bed. Wonderful. The other bidders were probably dying of laughter right about now.

              “Um, Ichinose, I can help you fix the bed if you need assistance,” she offered, somewhat taken aback by his foul mood. 

               “Much appreciated. Just don’t scream at me like that other woman,” he curtly answered. At the very least, it would be somewhat tolerable with her around.

               He discovered that her work mode self was completely different from how she normally was around the bidders. He had never seen someone so quietly adept. The carpets were perpetually smooth, the bathroom floor was clean enough to eat off of, and the bed was made flawlessly. Not that he’d ever say it aloud, but she was a good teacher. He learned how to fold those infernal sheets in less than five minutes thanks to her.

               “I’m glad you’re getting the hang of it now.” She gave him a thumbs-up.

               “But of course. I’m Ei—a really fast learner,” he stopped halfway before blowing his cover.

               “Oh, that’s good. We still have about ten more rooms to cover on this floor.”

               “Wait, _ten_?!”

              “Yup. Normally our quota’s fifteen, but ten should be easy enough.”

_Absolutely great._ He could already hear Baba’s unnecessary words of encouragement from here.

* * *

              After what felt like an eternity of fluffing pillows and vacuuming floors, it was finally break time. Everyone had already gathered in the employee common area to eat their pre-packed lunches. Eisuke could not fathom how food could be kept in a sealed container without tasting bad. While he was _very_ tempted to call for room service, he begrudgingly had to keep up the façade.

_When I’m done here, I’m going to personally castrate that thief._

              “Ichinose, you didn’t bring any lunch?” _____ asked, genuinely surprised. She was already unwrapping her bento, and he had to admit that it looked pretty appetizing for ‘commoner’ food.

              “I’m not that hungry.” _Blatant lies. I’m starving here._

              “Well, you could go out to buy some food, but the nearest restaurants are the ones in the hotel. They’re pretty expensive, though,” she sighed.  

              He honestly didn’t think it was _that_ expensive, but he chose to keep his mouth shut.

              “No, I’m not that hungry. Really.” Right at that instant, his stomach gave a huge growl, and he inwardly cursed Baba for the hundredth time that day.

              “If you want, I can share my lunch with you. I always make too much food,” she offered kindly.

              Eisuke couldn’t afford to be picky. He was utterly drained after doing actual manual labor, and she was offering to share her lunch—albeit commoner food—with him. 

_Screw it, I’m starving anyway._

              “If you insist,” he said, trying to play it off cool.

              She gave him a portion of her curry katsu, and he could only wonder how homemade food would actually taste like. The last time he ate something homemade was way too long ago, and he was already starting to forget the taste. He took a tentative bite, and his mind was blown away. 

              “It’s—not bad,” he uttered quietly. _Bullshit. It’s delicious._

              “Thank you.” She blushed slightly. “If you ever need anything, just ask me. I know how hard it is to be new here.”

              For a moment, he thought she suddenly grew wings and a halo.

              “_____! Let’s sit together!” Another hotel maid, followed by a bellboy, approached their table. _Probably some of her friends._

              “Sakiko, sure you can sit here. Oh, and Hikaru’s here, too.”

              “Yeah.” Hikaru gave a small wave. “Hm, who’s this?” he asked, gesturing to ‘Keisuke’.

              “Ah, this is Keisuke Ichinose. He’s going to part-time here for a while,” she introduced. 

              Hikaru gave Eisuke a once-over. The bellboy’s expression was blank for a while, until he gave Eisuke a barely noticeable smirk. 

              “I see,” Hikaru said. 

_What’s up with this guy?_

* * *

              They started to chat amongst themselves about idle topics. Eisuke chose to remain silent, taking in the absurdity of the situation in full force. Never in his life did he imagine eating casually with his employees. The moon was going to be blue tonight.

              “So, _____. I hear it’s crazy to work in the penthouse,” Hikaru brought up. Eisuke choked on his drink, and tried not to glare at Hikaru.

              “Yeah, you always get buzzed by the pager, even in the middle of work,” Sakiko chimed in. 

              “Believe me, I’m only given five minutes to get there. If I don’t make it in time, Mr. Ichinomiya yells at me,” _____ exhaled tiredly. Eisuke was _not_ liking the direction of this conversation. 

              “That’s pretty unreasonable if you ask me. He sounds like a cruel boss,” Hikaru added with faux disappointment, staring right at Eisuke for effect. _This bastard_.

              Eisuke could feel sweat form at the back of his neck. Why was he getting nervous? He had no reason to feel bad at all. Yup, he had no reason to start feeling guilty for overworking her after all this time—

              “Well, I admit he’s a somewhat difficult person, but I don’t think he’s a completely bad person,” _____ remarked. 

              “What do you mean?” Eisuke questioned suspiciously, choosing to speak up. 

              “He’s the type of guy who seems like a prick at first, but after a while, you realize that he does everything for a reason. Like, he’s a nice guy who doesn’t want other people to see him being nice, I guess? He’s still a bit of a prick, though,” she explained.

              While Eisuke could’ve done without the prick part, he felt—dare he say it aloud— genuinely touched. There was a sort of freedom in not being ‘Eisuke Ichinomiya’ that allowed other people to act freely around him. No one felt obligated to please him, and people could say what they thought without fearing his reaction. That was probably the only good thing about today, he thought.

              But he never expected her to have _that_ opinion of him. After doing all those chores with her, it dawned on him that maybe he really was unreasonable. Finishing a quota of more than a dozen rooms was hard enough, plus she still had to accommodate the guests one-by-one. He’d interrupt all of that just for a silly cup of coffee. 

              And yet, she still stuck around. 

              It was a good thing she couldn’t see through his disguise, or she would’ve found that the ‘Keisuke’ blushing madly next to her was actually her boss.

* * *

              When Eisuke arrived at the penthouse the next day, he braced himself for the teasing he was sure to receive. Sure enough, the barrage of jeers came, and he could already feel a migraine coming on.

              “So Boss, how was work yesterday?” Baba cheekily sniggered.

              “Yeah, _Keisuke_. Maybe I could call you for room service,” Ota added with a catty tone. Soryu and Mamoru did their best not to outwardly laugh, but failed miserably.

              “You all have exactly three seconds to get out before I lose my shit,” Eisuke warned. They all left afterwards, still amused by his outburst. He was definitely going to plan his revenge for them and make it as painful as possible. Yes, he would make sure none of them would ever dare to piss him off again—

              “Mr. Ichinomiya, you called? Do you need coffee?” _____ opened the door, nervously entering the room.

              “No. That’s not why I called you. Just—uh—sit down over there and have a drink or something,” Eisuke said, attempting to be as casual as possible. 

              “Um, pardon?” she was baffled. _Him_ asking her to have a drink? He was definitely planning something, she thought.

              “Just sit down already.” _Smooth, Eisuke, smooth._

              She did as he asked, and they both sat in silence. She looked mildly uncomfortable by the arrangement, and she was struggling not to let her composure slip. He couldn’t name the feeling that welled up in him at her lack of openness, but he still spoke anyway.

              “So, I heard from a certain employee that you’ve been doing quite well in your job,” he announced, gauging her reaction. “And I think good work deserves compensation.”

_I can’t believe I’m actually doing this._

              “Oh, uh, thank you.” Her cheeks were tinged with pink. He found the action cute, but he buried that thought as quickly as possible.

              “Just—well, take these.” He handed her a pair of tickets for a world cruise. 

              “Mr. Ichinomiya? Um, what exactly—“

              “You need a vacation. A long one. You’ve been working way too hard, so go and have fun or whatever,” Eisuke quipped. It took everything in him not to noticeably blanch at his uncharacteristic display.

              She could only gape at him before awkwardly giving a bow and a tight smile.

              “Um, if I may, sir? Who told you about me? I’d like to personally thank that person if I could,” she expressed  bashfully.

_Oh, shit._

              “It was, er, Ichinose. Apparently, he won’t be working here anymore. He received a better job offer somewhere else, it seems.” __

              “I—I see.” Her shoulders slumped a bit. “I was really looking forward to work with him some more. Oh, well.” 

              He was strangely pleased that she actually enjoyed his (although it wasn’t really _him_ , per se)   company. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to indulge in his repressed feelings once in a while.  He almost regretted keeping the disguise until now.

              “Well, he mentioned something about coming back to pick up the stuff he forgot,” he added. 

              “Really?” She lit up. “That’s good. I wouldn’t want him to leave without saying goodbye.”

_Oh, this is definitely not going to be a goodbye._


	2. Something I Can't Explain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eisuke thought he was insane for even considering the stupid disguise again, but he dons it again for reasons he can’t comprehend.
> 
> Needless to say, his way of socializing is—to say the least—unique.

* * *

               Eisuke thought he was slowly going crazy.

               Agreeing to masquerade as an employee for a day just to get Baba to steal a necklace was stupid enough. But doing it again _voluntarily_? Clearly, there must’ve been something wrong with him. Baba’s flights of fancy were starting to get infectious, he thought.

               Never in a million years did he ever imagine standing in front of his closet looking for something—god forbid he say it— _ordinary_. Almost all of his clothes were too fancy to be considered remotely casual, and wearing them would basically be a dead giveaway to his identity. In fact, he probably didn’t even own a normal t-shirt. _What the hell do commoners even wear?_

               After about twenty minutes of fussing over his wardrobe, he settled on a white button-down shirt and a pair of black jeans he didn’t even remember owning. All that was left was the wig and glasses. 

               “I still look devilishly good, but this should be commonplace enough,” he said, approvingly giving a thumbs-up to his reflection on the mirror.

                _Let’s do this._

Luckily for him, he was her boss, which meant he knew her weekly schedule by heart. Using that knowledge to his advantage, he’d make it look like he’d ‘coincidentally’ run into her at the staff room during her break time. A genius plan, if he had to say to.

               He headed straight there the moment his watch read 2:30—he even set an alarm just in case. Sure enough, she was already there, fixing the stuff in her locker. 

               “Ichinose! I didn’t think you’d be back here so soon,” she exclaimed when she saw him coming in. 

               “Oh, it’s you. I was just about to pick up the referral documents I left behind.” Years of being a businessman gave him a talent of making shit up on the spot.

             “I heard about it from Mr. Ichinomiya. You’re transferring over to the neighboring hotel, right? That was pretty fast,” she commented thoughtfully. “I enjoyed working with you, even if it was just for a day.”

               “Yeah,” he uttered. _How classy, Eisuke._

               Well, he got what he came for, so now was an appropriate time to for him leave. However, he found himself lingering a bit longer than he expected. Damn his poor impulse control.

               “Ah, before I forget,” she scratched the back of her neck gingerly, “I’d like to thank you for telling Mr. Ichinomiya about me. I was really stunned when he suddenly called me and said stuff about how good an employee I was being. Didn’t expect it from him, of all people.”

                _Trust me, I didn’t expect all of this either._

               “It’s obvious that good work should be rewarded. I merely told him what I saw that day,” he remarked with a feigned indifference. God, he was getting sappy. This was probably the most number of times he’s ever complimented a single person. 

               She made an inscrutable face, and for a moment he thought he offended her. But when she smiled shyly at him, his thought process came to a temporary halt. Definitely not good for his composure.

               The opening door sounded another arrival, and Eisuke quickly turned to see who the interloper was. 

              “Hi there, ____. Oh, and Ichinose’s here.” Hikaru showed up right on cue, as if to mock him even further. _Of all the times and people—_

              “Yes. I just came here to get something I forgot,” ‘Keisuke’ asserted, keeping his tone even. 

              “Is that so?” Hikaru folded his arms meaningfully. 

              There was a moment of tension between the two men, and Eisuke was 90% sure Hikaru was screwing with him on purpose. Strange as it was, Hikaru just rubbed Eisuke the wrong way.

              “By the way, ____.  I’m a bit surprised Mr. Ichinomiya didn’t page you at all today. Normally at this hour, you’d be rushing to the penthouse for the fifth time,” Hikaru added, with practiced astonishment. 

_This guy’s playing dirty—_

“Now that you mention it, it _is_ kinda strange. Maybe he had some business to take care of?” she pondered aloud.

               “Yeah, he probably had somewhere _really important_ to be,” the bellboy echoed derisively. 

               “You two shouldn’t gossip about your boss so openly. Who knows, maybe he’s actually closer than you think?” Eisuke glared right at Hikaru to harden the blow, but the latter seemed unaffected.

               “Oh, I don’t doubt that,” challenged Hikaru. 

               The men had another tension-filled silence before ____ cleared her throat awkwardly between them. 

               “Well, I have to go. My break time’s almost over. See you around, ____.” Hikaru flashed her a bright grin, to which she waved agreeably in return. Eisuke didn’t miss the fact that he was just outright ignored. He would be sure to review this guy’s salary—and background—later.

* * *

               Now that the busybody was gone, Eisuke inwardly thanked his good luck that she seemed to not have caught on to his masquerade. If she found out about all of this, the level of humiliation would be too great for even him to bear. 

              Like hell he would ever tell her that he did all of this just to talk to her normally.

               “I have to go get the documents now,” he said. 

               “Go ahead,” she nodded her head, “just remember, if you ever need anything, you can ask me for help. People always underestimate this job, even though it’s more difficult than it seems. Heck, I’ve even been mocked for it before,” she reflected sadly. Eisuke felt the tiniest pang of guilt at her statement, but chose to say nothing.

              She reached for a piece of paper in her locker and began to scribble something haphazardly on it. After she finished, she handed him the paper and gave him a friendly shoulder pat. 

               “You can contact me on that number if you need any help,” she assured kindly. “I’ll see you soon. My time here’s already up.” 

               She left the room promptly after, and Eisuke was now alone with his grating thoughts. He felt the whole thing was ridiculous because 1) he technically saw her every day as her boss, and 2) he already had her number. Other than that, this was all so surreal because he had never seen her act so friendly in front of him before. She would normally clam up at the mere sight of his face. 

               The past few minutes, however, were a different story.

               This was probably the first time she ever willingly gave him something, and he didn’t know why that made him feel oddly giddy.

* * *

               Today, everything was in its natural state. Ota and Baba were having a questionably innocent card game, while Soryu and Mamoru were arguing over the latter’s life choices. Even ____ was cleaning the penthouse noiselessly, as per usual. It was essentially another normal day.

               “____. Go tell this poor excuse for a detective to get his life together and stop mooching off of us,” Soryu snarled, pointing an accusing finger to Mamoru. 

               “Uh, I don’t know why you’re dragging me into this,” she replied pointblank.

               “Yeah! I don’t need the kid tellin’ me off about what I do. Hearing ya bitch about it is bad enough,” Mamoru ranted back irritably. 

               “But I think Soryu’s right.” She gave out a sigh. “Every time I clean Mamoru’s suite, I feel like swallowing a brick at how messy it is.” 

               “Not you too, kid!” the detective blanched.

               “Nice, Kishi got double-teamed by Koro and Soryu!” Ota hooted loudly. 

               “That’s the princess for you! Always unexpectedly savage when she has to be,” Baba added.

               Her expression was exasperated, but Eisuke knew by the slight shaking of her shoulders that she was silently laughing. When she first stumbled upon the auctions, she could barely look at them. Though over time, she learned to grow comfortable, and even joke around them.

               All, except Eisuke, that is. 

               He didn’t know why, but she never grew accustomed to him. Even today, she barely talked to him, only making contact when it was absolutely necessary or when she had to give him coffee. Hell, he was the _only_ person in the room (sans Baba) she wasn’t on a first name basis with. Granted, he was her boss, but still—

               It made him a bit disheartened.                                                                                

              “Boss, you look like you’re thinking about something scary,” Baba pointed out. The thief was way too observant for his own good.

               “I was just contemplating how I would carry out my revenge on you, considering what you put me through last time,” Eisuke divulged tauntingly. 

               “Yikes. Not cute at all.” Baba raised his hands in faux surrender.

               Eisuke gave him one last glower before letting out a sigh. Times like these called for some much-needed sugar. He decided to call Kenzaki on his phone to get him to order his favorite cake, but before he could scroll any lower on his contact list, he saw it— _her_ number.

               He thought about how outgoing she was with ‘Keisuke’ the other day. He also thought about how distant she was when he was just ‘Eisuke’. The contrast between the two made him inwardly laugh bitterly.

               He knew what he had to do.

* * *

               Being a slave to his own impulses, he chose to don the disguise yet again. That night, he spent an unholy amount of time thinking of an excuse to get her to see him without sounding overly creepy. In his desperation to contact her, he even got a spare phone for strict Keisuke-only purposes. No way was he going to use his own phone to text her—the jig would be up.

               Finally, he thought of something. It was—to say the least—the lamest and most half-assed reason he’s ever come up with, but knowing her, she’d probably agree to it. He bit the bullet and texted her.

                _(This is Ichinose. I need you to help me sample some hotel amenities. Apparently, some new linen and soap brands came out recently, and I need to test them to gauge how much our guests would be satisfied with them. Meet me at 9AM tomorrow just past the Tres Spades bridge. Don’t be late.)_

               Even if he was posing as someone else, Eisuke still texted like a jackass. That didn’t change. 

               A minute later, a reply came, and he furiously tapped on his phone to read it. 

                _(I dunno why you need me to be there, but I’m glad to see you’re asking for my help (_ _✿◠‿◠)! OK, I’ll be there tomorrow (_ _☞_ _ﾟ_ _∀_ _ﾟ)_ _☞)_

The emojis made him chuckle a bit. Even in text, she still managed to make him mysteriously amused. Tomorrow was surely going to be interesting.

* * *

               When the next day came, Eisuke was in an inexplicably good mood. He made sure to finish a week’s worth of work the previous day just so he wouldn’t be interrupted. He even told Kenzaki to cancel any short-notice appointments that would come up. Today was going to be _flawless_.

               It was only 8:45 AM, and yet ‘Keisuke’ was already impatiently tapping his foot at the bridge by the Tres Spades. He supposed maybe coming to the rendezvous an hour too early was overdoing it, but he still hated waiting. 

               By the time 9 AM had rolled in, she arrived, all smiles and completely unaware of Eisuke’s burning impatience. 

               “You’re late,” he muttered humorlessly.

               “Excuse _you,_ buddy. I came right on time,” she pouted childishly, “and wow, Ichinose, you sounded exactly like my boss just now. This is some weird déjà vu.”

               “…whatever. We have stuff to do. Let’s go.” He walked briskly ahead of her so she wouldn’t be able to see his expression. His old habits were slipping out, and she was beginning to catch on. Not good. 

_Get it together, Eisuke._

They reached his car (a rented _commoner_ car, mind you), and he had the common human decency to open the door for her. She was slightly shocked at his gentlemanly display, but she chose to roll with the punches. 

               “So, where are we going first?” she asked him excitedly.

               Of course, even though he made all that shit up about product testing for guest satisfaction, he didn’t come completely unprepared. In truth, he needed to buy some soap for himself. His supply was running low.

               “A new retail bath store opened up last month at the mall nearby, and they’ve released a new brand of hand soap. I want to see if that brand is worthy of our guests,” he explained matter-of-factly. _A bullshit excuse, though. I’m lucky she decided to go along with it._

“Hm, I’m not sure why you need me with you, but I’m glad you’re serious about taking the satisfaction of the guests into account. That’s the sign of a true professional,” she affirmed, giving him a thumbs-up.

               Theoretically speaking, he _was_ a professional in the hotel business, but hearing her compliment him out loud—it was a different feeling altogether.

               They made it to the mall in a few minutes and went straight for the store. His wig and glasses must have been pretty convincing because no one seemed to notice who he really was. Walking in public without people openly gawking at him was something he never thought he’d experience.

               “Well, this is the one.” He held up a fancy-looking bottle. “If this Lavender Vanilla soap passes my standards, I’m going to order this in bulk.” 

              “Whoa, it looks really elaborate for a bottle of soap. I hope it’s not too expensive or anything,” she innocuously said. 

               “That won’t be a problem. Here, you should get one, too.” He grabbed another bottle from the shelf and placed it in her hands. “Getting a second opinion would be useful.” 

               “Uh, sure, I guess…” she stammered doubtfully. While she thought that he was taking this job a tad too seriously, she found his soap fixation somewhat endearing. 

               They continued to nitpick around the mall until it was time for lunch. Although he was hungry, he was content for the first time in a while.

               “I think we gathered a lot of good input. I never even considered this would actually be kinda useful. I suppose guests are sharper than we give them credit for,” she admitted sheepishly.

               “Obviously. It was my idea, after all,” Eisuke insisted proudly. “Now, we eat.” 

               He had already made reservations at a nearby café. In his mind, he argued with himself on whether this whole day was him killing time with her by sampling soaps, or him going on a date with her in the most roundabout way. If it was the latter—

               He got rid of the idea right away.

               Nonetheless, he believed the day was going as perfectly as he had hoped. All was well until he saw an eyesore in the way of his newfound peace.

                _What the hell is Soryu doing here?_

               This was bad. Soryu was practically around the corner by the café with his two signature lackeys. Of all people, Eisuke didn’t want Soryu to find out about his current disguise ordeal. The mobster may not have been as mischievous as Ota or Baba, but his capacity for blackmail was legendary. Soryu would never let Eisuke live it down for as long as they both lived.

               There was only one thing to do in this situation.

               “Ichinose, what’s wro—whoa!” He grabbed her hand and sprinted away from the ensuing trouble as fast as he could. People could stare at them running for all he cared, but _anything_ was better than Soryu seeing him like this. They managed to go all the way to the other side of the mall, and both of them were out of breath after running for a while.

               “Hey, what was that for?” she panted. 

               “I saw someone dangerous-looking back there. There’s no telling what would happen to us if we stayed any longer.” Technically, that wasn’t a lie.

               “If you say so…” she complied hesitantly. “Uh, Ichinose? You can let go of my hand now.”

               “What are you— _oh, shit_.”

               He didn’t realize that he was still holding her hand in an almost vice-like grip until she told him. Immediately, he released his hold on her, and cleared his throat clumsily. _I’m getting too carried away._

               “…anyway. We should eat. I’m starving after all this running around,” he declared, trying not to show his inner turmoil. 

              “Yeah. I haven’t run this much in forever, and I’m _famished_ ,” she exhaled tiredly. Fortunately for him, she seemed not to pay mind to the earlier awkwardness, and she happily followed him to wherever he was planning to have lunch.

              While she was busy thinking about their main course, he was mulling over how different her hands were compared to his. He initially believed that women had soft, unblemished hands. Hers, on the other hand, were slightly rough. Almost dry, even. He surmised that their roughness most likely came from being exposed to household chemicals and manual labor all day. She probably didn’t even have enough time to care for them.

              But even then, he couldn’t explain why he liked the feel of her hands.


	3. A Sickness With No Cure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was slowly falling into a downward spiral of feelings he thought he didn’t have. This definitely was not how Eisuke Ichinomiya worked at all.
> 
> But somehow, he didn’t mind.

* * *

               He had to remind himself to stay grounded.

              Eisuke felt unbelievably pleased after their little soap fiasco, and _god_ , he was tempted to ask her out—ahem— _work_ with her again. Still, he knew he couldn’t keep doing all of this on a whim anymore. He didn’t exactly have all the free time in the world.

                _Get real, Eisuke. You’re not a teenager anymore. You have an empire to run, so focus, dammit._

               But no matter how much he tried to control himself, something in him just couldn’t wait to be within her proximity. During the past week, he made an effort to use his cellphone more than his pager. More often than not, he’d invite her to go ‘product testing’ or ‘data gathering’ when in reality, their outings became less productive and more spontaneous. 

               He was slowly evolving from ex-coworker (and aloof boss) to—dare he say it—a friend. Not that he was complaining.

               Besides, seeing her so friendly around him made a warm, almost-forgotten sensation well up in him. 

               “Earth to Boss!” Baba yelled, distracting Eisuke from his reverie. 

               “What?”

               “We were just wondering what you were up to lately. You know, since you were out the whole week,” Baba clarified straightforwardly.

              “I’ve been busy gathering patrons for the next auction. Is there a problem?” Eisuke challenged. Among the bidders, Baba had the keenest eye. Keeping him off-track was proving to be more difficult than expected.

               “No, not really. Just curious, is all.” Baba didn’t look convinced at all, but he decided not to push the issue. _Wise move._

              It was a crisis narrowly averted, and Eisuke sighed inwardly with relief. The fact that ____ was currently cleaning within earshot made it all the more risky. Much to his chagrin, he became hyperaware of her every movement. He was trying to keep his not-so-subtle glances at her to a minimum, but his eyes just wouldn’t stop. If anyone noticed, nobody commented yet. _Phew_.

              “Eh, but ____, you were pretty much gone the whole week, too. What, did you suddenly get a boyfriend or something?” Ota jokingly voiced. 

              She didn’t even have the chance to answer. The moment Ota said the dreaded b-word, Eisuke felt his coffee go down the wrong pipe. He kept coughing wildly until she—bless her soul—gave him a glass of water and a sympathetic glance. The rest of them, on the other hand, eyed him dubiously.

              “…anyway, Ota—“ she cleaned up Eisuke’s glass—“this may come as a surprise to you, but even I have a social life outside work. So, no, I don’t have a boyfriend.” 

_Oh, thank god—_

              “You’re single, pretty lady? So does that mean we can begin our much-awaited love affa—“

              Before Baba could even finish his sentence, Eisuke gracelessly spat out his coffee, unfortunately spraying the now-angry Mamoru. The poor detective just happened to be napping on the couch next to Eisuke.

              “Eisuke, _what the actual fuck_?!” Mamoru barked irately. He was now fully awake, and his face was dripping in both coffee spit and rage. 

              “Wrong pipe again,” the CEO uttered, still coughing a bit. “If this makes it any better, I hear coffee’s good for dull skin.” The other bidders could not hold in their laughter anymore at Eisuke’s half-assed attempt at consolation.

              “Jesus, I don’t give a fuck if ya choke, just don’t spray that shit all over me,” the detective snarled. “Hey, kid, a little help over here.” He pointed to his unamused face.

              “Oh!—uh, right away, Mamoru.” She sprang into action right after her shock at the previous display. Picking up some paper towels from the cleaning trolley, she was about to gently dab his face when Eisuke grabbed her shoulder firmly. 

                _What the hell am I doing?_

               “Mr. Ichinomiya?” she asked, completely baffled by his move. 

               “I’ll—I’ll do it,” he muttered. Strangely enough, the idea of her touching Mamoru’s face physically repulsed him. If Eisuke had to touch him in her stead, then so be it. 

               “But, sir—“

               “This is an order,” he said with finality. Clutching the paper towels from her, he clenched his teeth in frustration. How did he let the situation escalate this far? 

               “What the hell are you— _OW!_ ” Mamoru cried loudly. The CEO was wiping the older man’s face in a frenzied fervor, not caring about the possible chaffing there would be.  While she could only gape at the painful demonstration in utter horror, the others were hysterical. It wasn’t everyday their leader lost his cool.

               “There. Good as new,” Eisuke declared coolly, throwing the used paper towels aside. 

               “Fuck you, too. What the hell’s up with ya today?” Mamoru rubbed his chin irritably. “I was just taking a goddamn nap, for Christ’s sake.”

               What indeed. Eisuke dramatically blew his top in front of the others for something so trifling. Her already-muddled impression of him probably grew worse, he bitterly thought. He _really_ had to stay grounded now, lest anyone else catch on what was actually going on. 

               “I think I get it now, Boss,” Baba said, stroking his chin meaningfully. He had an enlightened expression on his face, almost as if an earth-shattering revelation had been revealed to him somehow.

               “What are you talking about?” 

               “I never thought I’d see the day!” Baba clutched his chest theatrically. “I almost feel touched at finally seeing you in lo—“

               “If you continue that sentence, I will castrate you myself.” Eisuke hissed. 

               “Heh. Of course.” Baba gave him a smug wink. The damn thief.

_And damn me for not denying it._

* * *

               This wasn’t good at all. 

               Eisuke always thought he was a master of keeping up a stoic façade. That was how he went through life for the past two decades, and it proved to be effective. Turns out, he was dead wrong. 

               If even _Baba_ could see his internal struggle, then something had to be done. Of course, he didn’t want to break things off with her; he just needed some distance. A lot of it. Maybe some absence of proximity would help him sort out his thoughts. Yes, that was a sound plan.

               He needed an excuse to let her know he had to be away for a while. He could say he had a business trip in another country, or that his relative needed him to move back to his hometown. Honestly, any reason could have worked, but he still felt bad for lying to her about something so stupid.

               Before he could text her, his phone rang loudly, and he recognized the custom ringtone he had set for her. Without warning, he checked his phone fervently.

_(Ichinose, if you’re free tomorrow, let’s hang out_ _＼(_ _●~_ _▽~_ _●) ! There’s a place I really want to take you, and I promise you won’t be disappointed (^_ _з^)-_ _☆ )_

               Fuck. How could he reject a message that adorable? All his thoughts about putting distance between them were thrown out the window. The tug of war between rationality and impulse was leaning towards the latter. 

                _(Sure. I’ll see you tomorrow at the same place.)_

Slowly, he was finding himself falling into a downward spiral with no return, but he found himself not caring.

* * *

               “Whoa, you’re early,” she pointed out. “Looks like somebody’s excited.” She elbowed him teasingly.

               “I had nothing better to do.” _Liar. You just cancelled a meeting today._ “Plus, I’m not early. You’re just late again, as usual,” he stubbornly insisted.

               “ _Suuure_ , buddy.” 

               She was right, though. He arrived at their usual rendezvous at the bridge an hour and a half too early because he couldn’t wait any longer. These outings with her made him feel like a high school boy all over again, and he reveled in the short-lived freedom like it was water in a desert.

               “But seriously, there’s this place I know that has the best fried rice in town. I was craving for it the other day, and _man_ , I think you should try it,” she raved excitedly. He could’ve sworn seeing her mouth water for a second. 

               “Well, lead the way, then, my esteemed connoisseur. I trust your taste buds won’t disappoint me,” he replied back jokingly. 

               “Of course, _sir_ ,” she remarked lightheartedly. While it was true she did address him with ‘sir’ on a regular basis, hearing her say it so good-humoredly without any hint of nervous professionalism made him unfathomably happy. 

               The place she was referring to wasn’t that far from the hotel, so they chose to walk there (although he would have preferred using a car). She led him to a nondescript looking kiosk just a few blocks away from their rendezvous. His ‘highbrow senses’ screamed commoner establishment at the place, but he decided to say nothing. 

               “Here we are. The Secret Shack, birthplace of the town’s best fried rice,” she declared proudly. “Order whatever you want. It’ll be my treat.”

               Now _this_ was a first. He couldn’t remember the last time someone ever treated him to anything, and he found all of this refreshingly comical. 

              “You don’t have to pay. Really,” he elaborated.

              “Oh, shush. For all the times we went out, you’ve been paying for everything. You’ve even been driving all this time. I wanted to do something for you instead,” she confessed. “Think of this as a ‘thank you’ of sorts.”

              Honestly, he didn’t mind paying for everything; it would barely make a dent in his bank account. However, he couldn’t find it in himself to argue with her endearing tenacity.

              “If you insist. I’ll have whatever you’re having.”

* * *

              Once again, she was right. Despite the place being a little run-down, despite the food being served in a Styrofoam container with plastic utensils, despite the apparent downgrade in his usual cuisine, he had to admit the food was actually pretty good.

              Well, except for one thing.

              “Ichinose, you don’t like green peas?” she mentioned, gesturing to the tiny mountain of peas he pushed to the side of his Styrofoam bowl.

              “It’s not that I hate them. It’s just that I’d rather not eat them. They’re like mini nuisances that ruin the taste of food. The world would be better off without them,” Eisuke emphasized utterly, poking the pea mountain in obvious disgust.

              She covered her mouth and chuckled slightly. “You’re pretty passionate about this.”

              “And just what’s so funny?”

              “You sounded like a little kid just now. I always thought you were serious about everything, but I guess even you had a side like this, too,” she added, still smiling from earlier.

              “I am _not_ a little kid. Take that back right now,” he huffed.

              “Yeah, yeah,” she quipped jokily, waving her hand in a flippantly dismissive manner.

              Though he was pouting on the outside, he was inwardly having fun. He never would’ve imagined having a normal conversation with her about _green peas_ , of all things. He felt a bit smug knowing the other bidders didn’t know this side of her. _Take that, you lot._

              “Anyway… it’s been a while since I asked, but how’s work going?” she brought up.

              Shoot. He got so caught up in the mood that he almost forgot he was supposed to be playing the part of a hotel worker. __

“It’s been quite lax lately. Other than that, it’s fine. You?”

              “Hm. Work is work, I guess. Nothing’s really changed since you left. The hotel’s always packed, Erika still has a stick up her butt, and the penthouse guests are—well—as unique as ever,” she mused.

_Unique, huh…_

              “Oh? In what way are they ‘unique’?” Eisuke asked intently. He _definitely_ had to hear this, and now was the only time he could hear an honest answer from her.

              “I’m not sure if I’m at liberty to freely talk about guests, though…” she remarked unsurely.

              “Don’t worry. It’s not like they’ll find out,” he assured her. _And I’m the only one who will ever know._

              “That’s true.” She clasped her hands together, seemingly deep in thought. “Where to begin… for starters, they all seem pretty dangerous at first, but once you get down to it, they actually act like children. I may be a hotel maid, but the mess at the penthouse is on a different level,” she ranted.

              “I see.” He was trying his hardest to keep his expression impassive, but he found it hard to suppress his amusement at her openness.

              “That’s not all. God, sometimes they make me do the strangest things. Like, there was this one time I was called to the penthouse just to judge who could stack the highest tower of cards,” she added. “And don’t even get me started on Mr. Ichinomiya…”

 _That_ got his attention.

              “What about him?” He _had_ to know.

              “I mean, he’s my boss, but he honestly scares me a bit. The others, I can handle a bit more, but he’s someone I’d rather not be around,” she explained thoughtfully.

              “Why not? He seems all right to me.” His voice grew a tad louder. _You’d better quit while you’re ahead, Eisuke—_

              He didn’t miss the way she bit her lip nervously. 

              “Well, if you must know—and you have to promise me _never_ to tell anyone—he and I really didn’t get off to a good start. Let’s just say I was unlucky enough to stumble upon something I wasn’t supposed to see, and long story short, I’m basically bound to him because of that,” she expounded, her tone somewhat more distant than earlier. “It’s kind of… suffocating sometimes.”

              Eisuke didn’t know what to say in return. As much as he wanted to defend himself, he knew everything she said was true. He did remember the first time they met; he pretty much blackmailed her into keeping the auctions a secret. Hell, he even said shit about how he bought her, therefore, he owned her. In hindsight, that was an asshole move to make, especially to someone as faultless as her.

              He almost didn’t recognize the guilt that welled up in him. 

              “What’s wrong, Ichinose? You went quiet all of a sudden,” she worriedly noted.

              “So that’s how you see me, huh?” he whispered bitterly.

              “Pardon?”

              “It’s nothing. The food wasn’t bad, by the way. My palate was mildly impressed,” he complimented, in an attempt to change the subject and the mood.

              “I’m glad you liked it. Told you it’d be delicious,” she cheekily replied.

              He didn’t mind being wrong this time.

* * *

              Their lunch was coming to an end, and he nearly found himself wishing the day would last longer. He honestly didn’t think he’d come so far from disguising himself at the Tres Spades, but here he was, at the mercy of the wig and glasses. 

              “Thanks for going out with me today. It feels nice to just hang out and talk to someone, you feel?” She stood up and stretched after placing a few bills on the kiosk counter.

              “I had nothing better to do today, that’s all. But today wasn’t that bad, I guess,” he voiced, a little bit embarrassed. 

              “That’s good to hear. Well, my offer from before still stands. If you ever need anything, just ask, Ichinose,” she said good-naturedly. 

_If that’s the case…_

              “You don’t have to keep calling me ‘Ichinose’ anymore, you know. It’s not like we’re still coworkers. Just use my given name,” he stated frankly.

              She gave him a questioning look, but seeing him look so serious about it compelled her to listen to him, oddly enough.

              “If that’s what you want… _Keisuke_. Oh, man. Does it sound weird?” she fretted.

              Obviously, Keisuke wasn’t actually his name, so it supposedly shouldn’t have held any importance to him whatsoever. The only reason he chose to go with it was because it sounded similar to his real name. Still, hearing his (almost) name uttered straight from her lips made a shiver of delight go down his spine. 

              “It sounds perfect.”

* * *

              Their last outing made him feel like he won a jackpot. He was practically drowning in the fact that their relationship had a definite upgrade. She seemed more comfortable with him, and that was a good sign. He hated it when she was awkward around him. 

              He waited a few days before finally asking her out again. He didn’t want to appear _too_ eager to see her—even though that was technically true.

_(Hey. Let’s meet at the bridge tomorrow at 1 pm. Don’t be late.)_

              With bated breath, he impatiently waited for her reply. Nothing. He was growing anxious at the lack of beeping from his phone, but after fifteen minutes, she finally answered.

_(Sorry for the late reply (_ _｡-_-_ _｡) I don’t think I can make it tomorrow. I don’t feel really well, and I think I have a fever (_ _๑-_ _﹏-_ _๑) But don’t worry!! I’ll make it up to you next time!! I promise!!! (_ _ง •̀_•́)_ _ง_ _)_

              Shit. What if she went to work today and overworked herself? Or maybe she didn’t have any medicine at her place? Or what if she was _dying_ —

_Stay calm. She’ll definitely be okay._

_(Don’t worry about it. Just rest and take medicine or something. You can make it up to me next time ;^) )_ Was this a proper emoji? Damn, he was _not_ used to this at all.

_(Whoa. Never thought I’d live to see YOU use an emoji (_ _ﾉﾟ0_ _ﾟ)_ _ﾉ~ Well anyway, thanks and g’night.)_

_(Good night.)_

              He was internally debating on whether or not to visit her. If he did, he’d look like a stalker, and frankly, he didn’t want her to be creeped out by ‘Keisuke’, too. Still, the worry was gnawing at him endlessly. He had to do something, at least. 

              He gave out a big sigh. This time, he had no choice. He grabbed his phone—his real one—and pressed speed dial.

              “Kenzaki. Buy all the cold and fever medication you can find. Also, if you can get some chicken soup, order a whole pot of it. Don’t forget to get some fruit, too. Deliver it to _____ as soon as possible. If she asks where all of the stuff comes from, do _not_ tell her it was from me. Be vague about it. Understood?”

              Kenzaki gave a reply of affirmation, and Eisuke hung up afterwards. Hopefully, this would help her, even a little bit. He slumped tiredly on his bed and ruminated a bit.

              If she was sick, then so was he. Albeit, it was a different kind of sickness. 

              This one was something that even medicine couldn’t cure.


	4. Denial Doesn't Suit You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Denial clearly didn’t suit him anymore, so he stopped.

* * *

               Eisuke barely got a wink of sleep that night.

               He couldn’t stop his mind from imagining the worst-case scenarios. She was sick, possibly writhing in pure agony all alone, and he was nowhere near her. Despite his esteemed position, he wasn’t free to do whatever he wanted. Damn social protocols. 

              At the very least, Kenzaki had given her the goods. He was able to help her, if only a little bit—

               For a moment, he laughed at his own unexpected concern for her. He already knew there was something brewing within him, but he didn’t think he was already _this_ far gone.  Strangely enough, what bothered him the most about the whole thing was the fact that he _wasn’t_ bothered at all.

                _Looks like medicine won’t cure whatever the hell’s going on with me…_

               “Huh, that’s strange. I don’t see Koro here today,” Ota curiously piped up, expecting his usual penthouse accommodation from her.               

               He made sure she didn’t show up at the penthouse today. He specifically ordered Kenzaki to let her stay home on sick leave. Even if he was going to have to settle for third-rate coffee the whole day, at least she’d get better, Eisuke thought. God knows what would happen if the other guys ordered her around in that state.

              “She’s on sick leave, so don’t bother looking for her,” Eisuke pointed out. There was an unspoken ‘ _don’t even think about calling her up here_ ’ masked in his flat tone.

              “I guess even the kid can get sick. She should just sleep the whole day,” Mamoru commented while yawning. 

              “Poor thing.  She’s probably all by herself, too.” Baba shook his head sympathetically. “Oh, maybe I can visit her later!”

              Eisuke had to control his rapidly rising homicidal urges. These days, he felt like Baba had a personal vendetta against him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t feel unusually annoyed at the thief every time her name was brought up.

              “No, you won’t visit her,” Eisuke warned.  “All she has is a fever. She’ll be fine after resting for a day. This is a hotel, not a hospital.” _Says me when I’m the one who wants to see her the most._

              “I’m not going to cause her any trouble or anything.” Baba raised his arms in surrender. “I just feel bad for overworking her all the time. I was going to give her some food and other things.”

              “Or you might just make a move on her while she’s clearly incapacitated,” Soryu added.

              “Hey! Don’t tell me that’s the kind of guy you think I am, Sor!” The thief exaggeratedly held his hat to his chest, as if in actual pain. Soryu only shrugged in return.

              As precarious as Baba’s reputation was, Eisuke knew that Baba wouldn’t actually do anything dangerous to her. He didn’t want to admit it out loud, but Baba was an honorable person, despite his playful antics. He was, perhaps, the most decent guy in the group.

              That was probably why Eisuke didn’t want Baba to see her.

              “Anyway, Boss. I’ll go check on her later. Unless… you want to come, too?” There was a teasing edge in his voice that only Eisuke could hear.

              The thief’s sharpness came up at the worst possible time. _How the hell did he—_

              “Of course not. There’s no reason for me to personally check on her. She’s my employee and I’m her superior. It’d be downright weird.” In truth, he knew that if he actually visited her, she’d most likely be unsettled by his presence. While it was true that she was warming up to ‘Keisuke’, the same couldn’t be said for himself—his _actual_ self.

              “So if you weren’t her boss, you’d visit her?” 

              Eisuke had to pause at Baba’s statement. The thief was either psychic, or just really damn perceptive. Whatever answer Eisuke would give, he was sure Baba would see though his bullshit immediately. Hell, it wouldn’t be surprising in the least if Baba knew about the whole ‘Keisuke’ ordeal and was purposely not commenting on it.

              “Think whatever you want,” he answered vaguely. 

              “I already have something in mind.” Baba’s eyes were glinting with amusement. “Well, you’re free to come later if you want.” 

              After a dramatic tip of his hat, Baba sauntered out of the penthouse, leaving Eisuke somewhat restless from the conversation earlier. He was about to sip his lackluster coffee before realizing what the thief was up to.

              “Wait a minute, I didn’t even give him permission to see her yet! That sneaky bastard!”

              Sure enough, he went out to chase Baba, leaving the other bidders bewildered at the sight of a madly running Eisuke. As if he was going to let Baba and ____ be alone in a room. 

_Hell no_.

* * *

              Somehow, Eisuke managed to get dragged into an unfavorable situation again. 

              He was able to catch up to Baba, who was already en route to the employee dormitories. After a failed negotiation with the thief, Eisuke almost resorted to physically holding him back just to stop him. Baba was essentially persistent, so Eisuke was forced to bite the bullet and visit her with Baba.

_Fucking great._

              “Listen, Baba. I’m only going because I have no idea what you might do to her in there,” Eisuke clarified irritably.

              “Oh, I’m sure you’re _not_ looking forward to this at all,” was Baba’s teasing reply.

              They made a few stops before going to her place.  Baba bought some fever medicine from one of the shops in the hotel, and Eisuke was a bit smug knowing he had already gotten her medicine beforehand. _Hah. I was first._

              What Eisuke didn’t anticipate was the cheesecake that Baba had picked up from a little cake store near the dorms. He always thought it was customary to bring healthy food to sick people, not desserts.

              “Why are you bringing her cake? I thought sick people needed fruit or something,” Eisuke questioned suspiciously.

              “True, this may not be the healthiest, but—” Baba held up the cake box—“cheesecake’s her favorite.” 

              Eisuke’s earlier smugness was now gone. How on earth did Baba know? Did that mean ____ told him about it, or did they go out together before? If it was the latter—

              Either way, he couldn’t help his own wariness.

              The walk to the dorms wasn’t that long, and they both finally made it to her room. While Eisuke was internally battling between his nervousness and excitement, Baba was a picture of pure calm. He knocked on the door thrice before she finally opened it. 

              “Oh, Baba—“ she gaped at the thief before slowly turning to her other visitor—“and… Mr. Ichinomiya.” Eisuke didn’t miss the way her expression fell when she faced him. _Still the same reaction._

              “Princess, we heard you were sick, so we came to visit!”

              “Um, thank you, that’s very nice of you both…” She was eyeing Eisuke nervously. 

              “Boss here was especially worried about you—“

              “I’ll give you five seconds to shut up before I shove my foot up your ass,” Eisuke hissed.

              There was an awkward silence between the three of them, and Baba fought hard to suppress his growing smile. Eisuke tried to give him his best death glare, but the thief was unaffected. 

              “Well, uh, you both shouldn’t be standing outside. You guys can come in.” She opened the door wider and gestured to the inside of her room. 

              The studio-type place was pretty small, even by her standards, but Eisuke could feel the owner’s vibe just from the room’s ambiance. Her décor was simple, and he noticed she had a fondness for pastel. There were picture frames of her friends and family littered about, and even some stuffed animals on her couch. _How adorable._

              “I’ll go make some tea.” She was about to head to the kitchenette when Baba stopped her.

              “Oh, no need to treat us like hotel guests! Besides, you’re sick and we just came here to drop something off real quick,” Baba exclaimed before placing the bags of stuff he bought earlier on her table.

              “Medicine and… cheesecake! Thank you so much! I’m surprised you knew my favorite cake,” she lit up, despite her flushed face and feverish manner.

              “No problem, pretty lady.” Baba winked at her while Eisuke was reigning in the urge of stomping on his foot.

              “Truth be told, Mr. Kenzaki came over here yesterday and gave me some food and medicine already. I still have a whole pot of chicken soup left,” she admitted sheepishly.

              “Did he now?” The thief didn’t bother to hide his deliberate smirk from Eisuke. “That was very _nice_ of him.” _Baba, you’re treading on very thin ice right now—_

              “Anyway. Will you be well enough to work tomorrow?” Eisuke said in an attempt to change the topic. 

              “Most likely, sir. I’ll—I’ll try not to be late,” she answered quietly. He’d never admit how bothered he was at how unnerved she still was around him.

              “Well, would you look at the time? I’m going to have to say goodbye right now. Get well soon, Princess!” Baba gave her a two-fingered salute before quickly heading for the door.

              “Hey! Get back here, you little—“ Eisuke was about to chase him when the door nearly slammed on his face.

              It was now just the two of them in the room, and Eisuke never felt more awkward in his life. He had never wished to be ‘Keisuke’ so much until now. 

              He turned to face her, and it seemed that she was just as uncomfortable as he was. She was trying hard to look at anything but him, but she was shivering slightly from the fever. His protective instincts flared at her quivering gait, and he was silently thankful for the opportunity that he could at least personally make sure she was okay.

              “Um, do you want some cof— _whoa!_ ” She was startled when he suddenly lifted her up in a bridal carry. _Christ, I am really crossing all the boundaries of rationality right now._

              “M-Mr. Ichinomiya!? What are you doing—“

              He said nothing to her in reply while making his way to her bed before setting her down gently. She was absolutely stunned at his uncharacteristic kindness, so much that she almost thought this was all a prank. Seeing the deadly serious expression on his face changed her mind, however.

              “Um, sir, you don’t have to—“

              “Nonsense. The only way you’ll get better is if you rest properly.” He pulled up the covers over her, and touched her forehead lightly to feel her temperature. “You should sleep without interruptions. I’m not going to page you for anything today.”

              She could only nod slowly and mutter a soft ‘thank you’. He nodded back in turn and was about to leave until something in the room caught his eye.

              On her sink was the Lavender Vanilla soap he had given her a few weeks back. The bottle looked half-empty, which probably meant she used the soap quite often. He couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face.

              “By the way, Lavender Vanilla soap is good for rough hands,” he voiced before closing the door, leaving her with a puzzled expression.

* * *

              Fortunately, she was well enough to go to work the next day. Sadly for him, his hectic schedule gave him no room to see her at all. He was bombarded with meetings that day, and he couldn’t even get a whiff of her precious coffee. 

_Just endure it a bit longer…_

              One day turned into one week, and the stress was starting to take a toll on him. He was used to frenzied schedules, but this week was hell-bent on testing his patience and sanity.  A few important business deals went south, the hotel received a couple of bomb threats from an anonymous sender, and even he himself received a few death threats in the mail.

              His fortitude was wearing dangerously thin, and the other bidders were walking on eggshells around him, careful not to aggravate him even further.

              After dealing with the last nuisance of the day, Eisuke plopped down on his bed. He made sure to turn off his work phone; damned if he’d have to deal with everyone else’s troubles when he was exhausted both physically and mentally. Honestly, what pissed him off the most was that he didn’t even get to hang out with her the whole week. The wig and glasses were collecting dust in his closet, just waiting to be used.

              He pulled out his other phone from his pocket and contemplated using it for a bit. He stared at her contact number for a while longer, and he grew moodier by the second. __

              Instead of his usual texting routine, he pressed the ‘call’ button. At this point in time, he didn’t give two fucks anymore. He _had_ to hear her voice, or he would go insane from the stress.

              “Hello? Whoa, Keisuke, you actually called for the first time,” Her voice sounded like an angel’s hymn to him after not hearing it for so long.

              "____.  Are you free right now?” His own voice came out somewhat raspy. 

              “Technically, yeah. But I was just about to head to bed already. Are you okay?” 

              “Just—just meet at the usual place in thirty minutes,” he croaked. 

              “Wait, I’m not even dress—“

              “I’ll see you later.” He hung up immediately. He didn’t care that he was irrationally making short notice plans out of the blue. All he could think about at the moment was how desperate he was to see her. 

              It took him less than fifteen minutes to wear the disguise and head for the Tres Spades bridge. She wasn’t there yet (as he expected), but that was only because he arrived too early again. The night was cold, and he dressed up in such a hurry that he didn’t even bring a coat with him. He was already beginning to shiver from the chilly night air.

              Twenty minutes later, she _still_ wasn’t there. Sure, she had been late before, but back then had just been Eisuke’s impatience exaggerating the time. This time, she really was late, and he grew colder and lonelier by the minute.

              He started to worry. What if she got into an accident on the way here? Or what if she stood him up? No, she wouldn’t do something as cruel as that. But what if she had enough of his nonsense and just decided not to go? God, he wouldn’t know what to do if she ever did that—

              “Keisuke! Sorry I’m late,” she yelled from a distance while running to him. She looked completely out of breath, looking like she had run a marathon. 

              “What took you so long? I’m practically freezing to death over here,” he complained, trying not to show his relief at her arrival.

              “I stopped by somewhere to get this.” She held up what seemed to be a cake box. “You sounded a bit troubled on the phone a while ago, so I thought that maybe some cake would cheer you up. Uh, I didn’t know what cake you liked, so I just got strawberry shortcake, if that’s okay with you,” she sheepishly added.

              It only took him a second to take in her presence. Her face was sweaty from all the running she had done, her hair was all over the place, and he could even see her socks were mismatched from dressing up in a rush. But even then, there was nothing more precious to him than her in that moment.

              Without warning, he pulled her into an embrace.  She nearly dropped the cake in surprise, but he only held her tighter. He allowed himself to indulge in this bliss, if only for a short while.

              “You must’ve had a really bad day, huh?” She wrapped her free arm around him in return. “There, there. Everybody needs a hug once in a while.”

_You are really so—_

              They stayed in that position a bit longer. He honestly wished he wouldn’t have to let go, but all good things had to end sooner or later. 

              “You feel better?” she asked kindly. 

              He nodded stiffly at her.

              “That’s good. Well, it’s getting late, and I have to go to work early tomorrow. If you’re still feeling down, don’t hesitate to call me, okay?” she reassured.

              “Come on, I’m not _that_ hopeless.”

              “Of course you aren’t.” She handed him the cake box. “See you soon, Keisuke.”

              She left as quickly as she had arrived, and he almost wanted to run after her. Tonight, he got to visit a place he didn’t even think was possible. After spending a few blissful seconds in that place, he never wanted to leave again because he knew he belonged there and nowhere else.

              He belonged right in her arms.

* * *

              The next day, everything was in its customary state. All the bidders were doing their usual thing, and even ____ was there to complete the penthouse crew in its entirety. In here, status quo was god.

              “Here’s your coffee, sir,” she delicately set the mug on the table next to him.

              “Thank you, ____,” he replied back politely.

              The room suddenly became deathly quiet, except for the sound of her dropping the spoon she was holding. Soryu stopped his phone call midway to give Eisuke a questioning stare. Baba gingerly put down the magazine he was holding to clear his throat, and Ota didn’t finish his sketch to gawk at the CEO. Even Mamoru woke up from his nap to gape at Eisuke.

              “Why the hell are you all looking at me like that?”

              “He—he just said ‘thank you’ to her. Holy shit, I think the world’s gonna end as we know it,” Mamoru uttered.

              “I’ve never actually heard him say it in all the years I’ve known him. Maybe I’m just seeing things and the stress is finally getting to me.” Soryu slowly rubbed his temples.

              “Wait a minute. Guys, this might not actually be Eisuke! Maybe this guy’s an impostor or something,” Ota exclaimed. The artist strode towards where Eisuke was seated and pinched him hard on the cheek.

              “ _OW_! Ota, I’m not an impostor, for crying out loud!” Eisuke swatted the younger man’s hand away angrily.

              “You’re right. Your skin looks and feels too real to be a mask… so you’re actually Eisuke?”

              “That’s what I’ve been saying, dammit!”

              “Then why are you acting weird? You’re being kind of unsettling today,” Ota spat.

              “What do you mean ‘weird’? It’s perfectly normal to thank a person when they do something good. Right, ____?”  Eisuke glanced at her.

              “Um, I guess so…” She still couldn’t think coherently after being thanked by him.

              Eisuke had a good guess as to why they were all collectively appalled by his sudden display, but right now, he couldn’t care less. She deserved a lot more than the bullshit he used to dish at her, and he thought that maybe now was the time to compensate for their rocky start. 

              “Heh, I’m really proud of you, Boss,” Baba said sincerely.

              “Hm? What did I do?”

              “Denial didn’t suit you. This is _much_ better.”


	5. Not Myself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eisuke sorely overestimated his luck. At the very least, she still hasn’t seemed to have caught on.
> 
> Yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I commissioned an image from [arthappyneko](http://arthappyneko.tumblr.com/) and added it here! Please commission her when you have the chance :>

* * *

               He was in for a busy month.

               Since the Tres Spades had topped the rankings and won Best Hotel of the Year again, he supposed he should at least show his employees appreciation for it. The Ichinomiya Group was planning to host a corporate gala as a show of gratitude to them. Though to be honest, Eisuke already knew the Tres Spades would win, so he already planned for this event two months in advance. All that was left to do was to take care of the final touches and to have the invitations sent out to the staff.

               There was just one problem.

               “Mr. Ichinomiya, I’m really sorry, but I won’t be able to make it to the event,” ____ voiced out tentatively.

                _Of course. The only person I’m looking forward to just_ had _to be unavailable—_

               “You do know you’re required to go, right? If you have a good reason, I’m all ears.” 

               “I have a previous engagement scheduled that day, sir. It’s… a family emergency.”

               “Is it not possible for you to have it moved earlier? The gala’s in three weeks, so you should have ample time to take care of your personal matters.”

               She shook her head slowly in reply. _Damn_.

               “If you’ll excuse me, sir,” She bowed politely before leaving his office.

               Family trumped work, so he couldn’t exactly ask her to dump her previous appointment. At this rate, he could only hope a miracle would happen that’d make her magically attend. In the first place, the event’s purpose was to appreciate and recognize the staff. There wouldn’t be any point if she wasn’t there.

               Raking his hand through his hair, he gave out a tired sigh.

_How on earth am I going to convince you to show up?_

* * *

              That night, he was pleasantly surprised to receive a text from her asking him to head to the bridge. The golden opportunity to persuade her had arrived sooner than expected, but he wasn’t complaining. He spent no time at all getting ready and rushing to their usual rendezvous. However, he didn’t expect to see her waiting for him at the bridge already.

               “Looks like _you’re_ late this time, Keisuke,” she said, smirking at his arrival. 

               “Oh, shut up,” he replied back impishly. “So, why did you call me out here?”

               “I just wanted to eat, that’s all. There’s this new ramen place I found, and the food’s really good. Now, let’s go!” She stretched out her arm in front of him, as if waiting for him to take it. 

               “What do you want me to do with that?” He motioned to her arm.

               “Take it, obviously. Let’s hurry!” Before he could protest, she linked her arm around his and dragged him along with her to their destination. 

               Obviously, he didn’t mind the gesture at all. If anything, he was inwardly triumphant at their close proximity. As a bonus, he was sure they looked like a couple to any bystander who saw. No one would dare pull the moves on her, and that was the best part.

               She brought him to a food stall not too far from the hotel, similar to the fried rice place they ate at a while back. After spending weeks of sampling commoner cuisine with her, he got over his snobbish food tendencies—well, _mostly_ , anyway. 

               “Ramen is always good on a cold night,” she blurted out                after slurping her noodles.

               “I hate to admit it, but you have somewhat of a point.” Even amidst the chill of the night air, he was already feeling warm thanks to the food.

               “Just say I’m right for once,” she snickered, elbowing him playfully.

               Now that her guard was down, he figured it was a good time to start subtly convincing her. The personality gap she had between Keisuke and his actual self had _some_ purpose, he supposed.

               “Oh, by the way, one of my coworkers told me the Tres Spades was going to have a big event pretty soon. I take it you’ll be busy for a while,” _Take it nice and slow, Eisuke._

               “So you’ve heard about it, huh?” She scratched the back of her head idly. “I’m actually not going.”

               “That’s unfortunate. I hear it’s going to be a really glamorous party. Everyone who’s everyone will be there. The food will probably be to die for, too.” _Just lay it on thick and maybe she’ll give in…_

“Ugh, I know that, but to be honest, I… already kinda faked an excuse to my boss a while ago.” 

               — _you did WHAT?!_

               “W-what do you mean?” he asked, trying hard to keep a neutral tone. 

              “Well, I lied to him about having a family emergency, but the truth is I’m not going because I can’t really—well—dance. I’d just embarrass myself if I went to a fancy event and made a fool out of myself,” she sheepishly admitted.

               While he didn’t appreciate the fact that she lied to him, he was silently relieved that her true reason wasn’t anything completely non-negotiable. In fact, he actually found it unexpectedly cute that she’d fret over things like that.

               “So, by your logic, if you knew how to dance, you’d be able to go?” 

               “Yeah, I guess I would. But really, how the heck am I going to learn that in time?” she snorted derisively. 

               “Easy. I’ll teach you.”  

               It took a full ten seconds for her to recover from the momentary catatonia. She gawked at him, waiting for him to say something— _anything—_ but his expression didn’t change in the slightest. __

               “You—you’re not serious, are you?” she hesitantly asked.

               “I’m completely serious. In fact, we can start tomorrow after your shift. You’re lucky I just so happen to be free,” he stated matter-of-factly.

               “Wait, wait, hold on!” She raised her hands in front of him, as if to stop him. “I haven’t decided if I was actually going or not! Why are you so hung up about this? It’s like you’re more excited about this than I am.”

               “I’m offering you my tutelage out of the kindness of my heart so you can go to the party and have fun. Isn’t that enough?”  Eisuke looked her squarely in the eye. He’d be hitting two birds with one stone—she’d attend the party _and_ spend some more quality time with him. He had everything to gain and nothing to lose.

               “I really appreciate the proposal, but are you sure about this?” she inquired. “It’s just a party, you know.”

               “And I’ll make sure you’ll be the best dancer there.” 

               “…you’re so invested in this, Keisuke. If I said no, what would you do?

               “I’d keep asking you until you say yes.”   _Like hell I’m going to let this chance slip by me._

               “I thought so,” she sighed.  “Well, I guess we’re stuck with each other for a while, then. We can practice at my place so we can have privacy. I don’t want anyone finding out about this. Especially my boss. He’d never let me hear the end of it.” 

               He smiled at her last statement. “I don’t think you need to worry about that.”

* * *

               He had his work finished as quickly as he could the next day.  He couldn’t afford any interruptions since his time with her was fleeting; god forbid a phone call disrupt their time together. Though she was thoughtful enough to text him her address, he already knew it by heart. Inwardly, he was thankful that the visitor policy at the employee dorms was lenient. 

               Not long after he got dressed, he was already in front of her door, disguise and all. He wasted no time pressing the buzzer. 

               “You’re here early,” she commented after opening the door. “Well, come in and make yourself at home, I guess.”

               He nodded at her in acknowledgement before stepping inside. The place was mostly unchanged, save for the fact that it seemed roomier. Most of her furniture was moved to the side—probably to give them some dancing space. Other than that, her apartment still had the soft charm it had when he first visited.

               “My place is pretty small, but this should be enough space for us to practice.” 

               “It’s fine.” He got the spare phone from his pocket and looked for a soft classical piece to practice to. Once the music started playing, he set the phone aside. “What are you waiting for? Let’s get started already.”

              “You’re so eager. I have zero experience in this, so if I step on your feet, don’t say I didn’t warn you,” she grumbled.

               “We’ll see about that.” He offered his hand out to her, but she only stared back at him, confused. “You’re supposed to take my hand, you know.”

               “Oh—okay.” She put her palm on top of his and shyly laced her fingers in the gaps. 

               “We’ll be practicing The Waltz. Since it’s a formal dance, the man usually leads the woman to the dance floor by the hand before bowing to her.” Slowly, he walked to the middle of the room with her hand in tow.  He let go of her then gave her a slight bow. “The woman curtsies to him after that.” 

               “Curtsy, got it.” Pretending to wear a skirt, she gave him the most elegant curtsy she could muster. It came out a bit awkward, but he couldn’t help but think it was adorable. “Er, so how was it?”

               “Hardly passable, but it’ll do for now,” he judged, but was secretly amused at her deflated expression. “This is barely scratching the surface, so let’s move on to the actual dancing part.”

              “Um, so where do my hands go?” Her hands were hovering around him mindlessly until he caught her hands gently. __

               “Like this,” he said, gripping her right hand with his left one. “Our palms have to touch each other. Your left hand goes a bit below my shoulder, while my right goes on your shoulder blade.” 

               He adjusted the position of his arms, and she followed too, albeit a bit clumsily. When she placed her hand on his shoulder, it took all his willpower not to tense up at her touch. The temptation to move his own hand a bit lower on her back was even harder to resist.

               “God, you’re so tall. I feel like I’m reaching for something on a shelf,” she lightheartedly complained.

               “Heh, you’ll get used to it. Now, for the footing.”  He looked down at their feet. “Let’s start with something easy enough for you. First, your left foot forward, then to the side with your right.”

               She followed his instructions with a nod. 

               “Good. Now close your left foot to your right foot.” 

               Looking at their feet, she did her best to follow the footing.

               “Step back with the right, then to the side with the left, and finally close right foot to left foot.”

               “Okay…” she did exactly as he said while watching her feet the whole time. “Anything else?”

               “Basically, you have to combine the steps and make sure to be in tune with the music. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to have eye contact with your partner while you dance. Looking at your footing the entire dance makes it seem like you don’t know what you’re doing,” he explained. 

               “I really have no idea what I’m doing,” she laughed. “But you’re the teacher, so okay then. I’ll try to look at you.”

               They repeated the move from the beginning, this time with her eyes on his. Seeing her so focused on his face made him warm up a bit, but he swallowed his embarrassment to continue.               

               The moment was perfect; he could feel her adorably struggling to get the steps right while gripping his shoulder tighter each time she messed up. Secretly, he wanted her to make more mistakes just so she could hold him tighter and cling on to him.

              “I feel like I’m slowly getting used to this,” she admitted happily. “This isn’t so bad—“

              The toe of her shoe caught a chunk of carpet, and she tumbled forward at the misstep. She was expecting the carpet’s impact, but what she felt was something warmer and definitely human. It took her a second to realize she toppled onto Eisuke, but he made no move to change their scandalous position.

              Their faces were dangerously close to each other, and his baser instincts were going into overdrive. He could feel her every movement atop him—especially the small, tense breaths she made. She was slowly moving closer to him, and he couldn’t help the jolt of anticipation down his spine. He closed his eyes in preparation for what he thought was coming, until—

              “…Keisuke, I haven’t told you this, but I’ve always thought your face looked familiar somehow.”

_Shit, shit,_ shit _!_

              As much as he wanted to _,_ they couldn’t stay like this any longer. He quickly adjusted their position so that they were both standing again. She was baffled at his sudden movement, but he figured it was better than her seeing through the disguise.

              He cleared his throat nervously. “…I get told that quite often. We should stop wasting time. Let’s practice again,” he declared in an attempt to change the subject. 

              “Whatever you say…” she replied questionably. “But really, I warned you that I would suck at this. Sorry, was I heavy?”

              “Yes, I almost died at how heavy you were.” He earned a dirty look from her. “Now, let’s start from the beginning again.”

_That was too close._

* * *

               Day One of dance practice ended almost uneventfully, save for the mishap that almost exposed his masquerade. He texted her that he’d be free the next day at the same time, so she had better prepare herself for a Spartan training session.

                _(Don’t worry, Keisuke (_ _｢･ω･)_ _｢ ! My body’s ready for whatever you have in store, so go ahead and dish out your best_ _♪┏(_ _・o_ _･)_ _┛♪ Btw, I ordered pizza so we can eat after.)_

               He chuckled at her interesting choice of words. _Your body’s ready, huh?_

               “Baba, Eisuke keeps smiling at his phone like a creep. Do you think he destroyed another business, or did he find some blackmail material?” Ota sardonically asked.

               “I think it’s something else entirely,” the older man answered knowingly.

               Eisuke chose to ignore the two. They could make fun of him all they wanted, but his mood wouldn’t be dampened in the least. 

               “It’s a good thing ____  changed her mind and decided to go to the gala. I bet she’d look stunning in a gown,” said Baba excitedly.

               “I can’t wait to see Koro all dolled-up in a dress! I’m almost jealous of whoever gets to be her date,” Ota exclaimed. 

                _She was planning on going with someone? I thought she was going stag!_

               “____ told you she had a date?” Eisuke felt perturbed at the possibilty.

               “Sorta. She did say she was going to ask someone out. Wonder who he is, that lucky guy.”  

               Lucky indeed, Eisuke thought grimly.

* * *

               Their next practice sessions went almost smoothly, sans the fact that Eisuke couldn’t stop thinking about whoever her so-called date was. He cursed his position; if he wasn’t her boss, then they probably could have gone together without any problems. Hell, even if he did ask her out, he was sure that she’d either flat out reject him or go with him out of obligation. He liked neither.

               If anything, his childish jealousy would at least make sure her ‘date’ would have a crappy time at the gala. Yes, he would pull strings to make sure of it. Then she’d come crying to him, looking for help and—

               “Phew, okay. I think I’m getting the hang of this dance.” It was true. He had to admit that after a week and a half, she did show remarkable progress. “I ought to thank you.”

               “Obviously. Since I’m the one who taught you, you’re practically a pro now.”

               “I sure hope so.” She closed her eyes for a bit before continuing. “I, uh, actually had one last favor to ask you…”

               “What is it?”

               She fidgeted slightly. “Um, if you don’t mind—and only if you’re absolutely okay with it—would you be my date for the party? We’re allowed to bring a date, and I’d feel more comfortable going there with someone I trust. I’m not exactly good at events like these…”

               He did not anticipate this new development at all. He wanted—no—was _dying_ to somehow go with her, and here she was, giving him the chance of a lifetime. However, he didn’t expect _Keisuke_ to be her desired partner. If she went with Keisuke to the company gala, that would leave him with a gaping problem: how the hell was he supposed to be Eisuke _and_ Keisuke at the same time? 

               Still, when he saw the pleadingly desperate look in her eyes, he knew he only had one option.

               “…Alright. I can be your date.”

* * *

              Soon enough, the much-awaited day came. It took a lot of effort, but Eisuke somehow came up with a convoluted plan to be two people at once. Luckily for him, the gala would be in the Tres Spades ballroom, so he had a bit of leeway to move around. Beforehand, he told Kenzaki he’d be busy with ‘important’ matters, so no one could contact him unless absolutely necessary.

              In fact, he already prepared a spare black suit in one of the suites near the ballroom just in case he needed to change. He just had to make sure no one saw him going in and out of the room.

               Right now, he was in front of her room again—dressed in disguise, of course. He at least wanted to make sure he could escort her to the venue properly. 

               When she opened the door, he was greeted with an almost ethereal sight.

              To say she dressed up for the event was an understatement. She was wearing a plum-colored strapless gown that flared slightly at her waist and gave a teasing peek of her legs. Her standard work-prescribed bun was now replaced with a braided side ponytail, held together by a rose-shaped hair pin.  His wandering eyes didn’t miss the silver-plated necklace that rested on her now-exposed collarbones. Needless to say, she looked like every fantasy he’s ever had of her.

               “You look… nice,” he complimented dumbly. _Ugh, get your act together, Eisuke._

“Thanks,” she blushed at his weak attempt of praise. “You look pretty handsome yourself, Keisuke.” She gestured to his night gray tuxedo. Even if he was disguised as a commoner, Eisuke still had to make sure he was dressed to kill.

               “Then that would make us the best-looking pair in the gala. Now, let’s go.” 

               Thankfully, the employee dormitories weren’t too far from the hotel, so they made it to the ballroom with time to spare.  She audibly gasped at how elaborately decorated the venue was, and he felt a little smug at her reaction. He spared no expense in making the ballroom look no less than spectacular.

               “Mr. Ichinomiya really doesn’t cut corners at all, does he?” 

               “Of course he wouldn’t,” he proudly added.

               Once they sat at their designated table, she exhaled, letting out a breath she had been holding. 

               “You do know that it’s cocktail hour now, right? You’re supposed to socialize with the other guests over wine and hors d'oeuvres. I can go with you, if you want,” he explained to her.

               “Oh no, it’s fine. I’m not really the type to go around and mingle. Plus, all my friends have their own dates and I wouldn’t want to intrude.” She twiddled absentmindedly at her ponytail. “Besides, you’re the only one I want to talk to.”

                _Argh,_ _don’t be so cute when I’m clearly incapable of responding!_

               They continued to make small talk until it was time for dinner to be served. So far, so good, he thought. No one was looking for him yet, and that meant he could spend a bit more time with her. When he saw her stressing over which fork to use for the salad, he couldn’t suppress a snicker.

               “Hint—use the leftmost fork,” he smirked at her little fiasco.

               “Ugh, why can’t we just have one set of utensils…” 

               Despite not being familiar with formal tableware, she at least looked like she truly enjoyed the food, judging from the way she cleaned her plate. Eisuke noted to personally thank the chefs and caterers later.

               Dinner was over, and once the classical music started to play, it was time. He stood up, turned to face her and gave a bow before offering his hand to her. She realized he was inviting her to dance with him. Gratefully, she took his hand and they both strode to the center of the ballroom, not paying any mind to anything else around them.

               “I trust you know what to do,” he whispered to her.

               “Of course. I had the best teacher, after all.”

               Everything was perfect. The mood was just right, the atmosphere was pleasant, and she was here with him. However, after they positioned their arms, his work phone began vibrating incessantly in his pocket.

               “Is something wrong?” she asked.

               “It’s nothing.” He tried to ignore the nuisance, but the damn phone just wouldn’t stop ringing. 

               “I think you should take that call. It might be something important. Don’t worry about me, I’ll just be around here,” she reassured.

               “Sorry. I’ll be back soon after dealing with this pest.” He left the ballroom to look for a secluded area. Eventually, he made it to the balcony outside and he checked his phone only to see Soryu’s name on the call screen.

                _What on earth does he want?_ He pressed the ‘answer’ button almost immediately.

               “You better have a good reason for calling me now. I’m in the middle of something—“

               “Eisuke, where the hell are you?” Soryu’s voice sounded strained. “One of the IVC patrons wants to discuss some potential business deals with you. If you don’t show up to the penthouse, we might lose prospective profits.” 

                _Tch, of all the times…_

“Fine. I’ll be there in a while. Keep him entertained.”

               “Not ‘in a while’. Get your ass here _now._ ” Soryu quickly hung up on him. Great. 

               Talk about bad timing. Hopefully, the meeting wouldn’t last for too long, and he’d be able to get back with her right away.

                _(Something urgent came up. I’ll probably take a while. Sorry. But I’ll definitely come back.)_

                _(It’s alright. Take your time (_ _｡･ω･)_ _ゞ I’m going to look for more dessert (*^_ _◇^)__ _旦 !! )_ Bless her kindhearted soul.

               He made his way to the room he had his spare black suit kept. It didn’t take him much time to change, and he rushed to the penthouse soon after. 

               “Took you long enough,” Soryu voiced, unamused by his friend’s late entry. “Let’s get started already.”

* * *

               The meeting took longer than Eisuke anticipated. The IVC patron kept droning on and on about adding more goods to the auction roster, and Eisuke was sorely tempted to check his phone every thirty seconds. Even Soryu looked like he was getting bored, but trying hard not to show it.

               Finally, two hours later, the meeting ended. Eisuke was already itching to get out of the penthouse already. He felt guilty for keeping her waiting for so long, and his guilt only grew worse when he saw she hadn’t messaged him at all. _Was she angry? Was she alright?_

“Eisuke, about the auctions—“ Soryu didn’t get to finish his sentence when Eisuke left the room in a hurry.

               He dashed back to the ballroom, not caring about the other bidders’ questioning looks at him. At that point, he didn’t even consider changing back in his disguise anymore; there was no time and he needed to make sure she was still there, at least.

               Sure enough, she wasn’t anywhere in the ballroom, and he was worried that she might have left without saying anything. It was ten times harder to look for her because his current disguise-less self made partygoers flock to him like flies to honey. He tried to brush them off as quickly as possible without seeming rude, but his patience couldn’t handle it anymore. 

               He swept past the sea of guests and ran over to the balcony. Much to his relief, she was there, safe and sound. 

               “____.” Eisuke called out.

               “Keisuke—“ she turned around expecting to see black hair and glasses, but she was only met with chestnut hair and a frown. “Oh… Mr. Ichinomiya.” _Disappointed expression again._

“Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be inside with everyone else?” _You shouldn’t be out here all by yourself._

               “I’m not very good with crowds, sir. There are lots of important people in there and I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of them. It’s scary being in there alone,” she told him timidly.

               “I see.” _Damn it, Eisuke, this is your fault for taking too long._ “Were you waiting for someone?”

               “Yes… but I think he left already. I must have been an annoying date,” she said self-deprecatingly.

               Guilt welled up in him again. It was hubris on his part to even think the plan would go completely smoothly.  He wanted to avoid this outcome at all costs. “I can assure you that that’s not the case.”

               “How are you so sure?”

               He didn’t respond. She only grew even more puzzled when he stretched his hand out in front of her.

               “Dance with me.”

               “But sir—“

               “At least until your date comes back. It’ll only be one dance.” 

               She reluctantly obliged and took his hand. This was probably the only opportunity he’d ever have to dance with her as himself. He was going against his own plan, but found himself not caring anymore. He could _finally_ dance with her, and that was all that mattered.

               He could see she was uneasy, despite all the training he had given her. She shakily positioned her arms in the traditional dance hold he taught her. He put his hands in position as well, and he felt her tense up when he touched her shoulder blade. __

               “You should relax a bit.”

               “S—sorry. I’m not really used to this.” _Liar, you danced just fine with me the other day._

               He led the dance, and she followed in turn. Neither of them spoke when their footwork began, and he kept his eyes on her face the whole time. 

               In spite of her obvious silent tension, she looked—well— _beautiful_. Months ago, he never would have thought he’d fall this deep into his own impulsion. What started out as a harmless dare by the other bidders became an all-out spiraling to unexpected, but not unwelcome emotions. He knew he felt strongly towards her, but was he ready to label that feeling? Everything leading up to this moment wasn’t planned—he only made it this far because he managed to spontaneously luck out every single time. 

               Nevertheless, he was more than ready to start a relationship with her, if she so allowed. Only one thing was stopping him—would he ever tell her about _Keisuke_?

               His train of thought was interrupted when she abruptly stumbled backward. Before she could let out a yelp at the fall, his body reacted immediately. He caught her by the waist and pulled her close to him. Just like before, their faces were precariously close to each other, and it took everything in him not to kiss her right there. 

                _If only you knew how much I wanted to—_

              Her eyes widened all of a sudden, and the next words tumbling out of her mouth nearly killed him.

               “It can’t be… _Keisuke_?”

               He pulled away from her at that instant and straightened up. She was now on her guard, he noted tensely.  

               “I think you’re mistaking me for someone else.” __

“…Sorry. You just looked exactly like someone I knew for a moment. I couldn’t help the déjà vu,” she muttered. Her expression was blankly solemn. 

_This isn’t good…_

               “I’ll excuse myself, then.” He turned away from her. “I hope whoever you’re waiting for comes back.” 

              Shit, he had to go back and change! He made too many blunders that night, and this one was by far the worst of them all. God knows what would happen if he screwed up again.

               He walked toward the ballroom entrance when he felt something vibrate loudly in his pocket. Slipping his hand in, he pulled out the cause of the noise, only to discover that his _spare_ phone was ringing.

               On the call screen, he could see her name visibly printed on it.

               “I knew it,” she muttered, holding her phone out to show him the call log. “You’re Keisuke, aren’t you?”

               And in that moment, he knew he was completely and utterly _fucked_.

               “…Yes.”


	6. It's Okay If It's You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eisuke wasn’t used to fixing problems like these.
> 
> Much to his dismay, all that was left was trial and error.

* * *

              Looking back on it now, his life wasn’t completely without suffering.

              At a young age, he lost his mother, father, and sister without warning. He was sent on his own to study in a completely foreign land with no one to help him. He torturously had to climb his way to the top of the corporate ladder, making more enemies than friends. Hell, half the world probably wanted him dead at one point or another.

              But nothing he’s ever been through could prepare him for the utter look of betrayal in her eyes.

              “Was it fun?” she asked him, her expression uncharacteristically irate.

              “What do you mean?” 

              “Messing with me. I know you’re my boss and everything, but even I have limits to how much I can get pushed around.” Her voice was dripping with a long-repressed bitterness, he ruefully thought.

              “I didn’t do this to mess with you, I swear. I just—I—“ __

She crossed her arms, as if to unconsciously shield herself from him even further. In all honesty, in the long time he’s known her, not once has he ever seen her remotely angry, despite all the things he and the others have put her through. If anything, all she ever did was brush everything off with a tight smile. 

              Right now, however, she was seething with a quiet fury he never knew she had.

              “Knowing you, you wouldn’t do something this elaborate without a reason. Were you trying to get info out of me, or were you just genuinely bored one day and decided to mess with me? Was this another bet with the guys? If you were doing this for your own amusement—well—I guess I’m nothing more than a plaything to you, huh, Mr. Ichinomiya? I mean, you said so yourself when we first met at the auctions—I’m nothing but your property, _right_?” 

              He felt every single word stab him. Hearing his own cruel words thrown back at him stirred the regret he thought he kept long hidden.

              “Wait, you don’t understand. I wasn’t trying to deceive you or anything. It was—I—“ There was almost no trace of his usual eloquence, and he could only internally cringe at his lack of elegance when it came to her.

              “It was what?” 

              She was carefully gauging his next words. Depending on what came out of his mouth, their relationship—or what was left of it—would change drastically. He was sorely tempted to pile on another lie atop all the other ones, but the morose look on her face made him hesitate.

_Oh, fuck it._

              “…I wanted to talk to you, okay?” he admitted.

              That managed to surprise her. 

              “Talk to me…? I don’t understand,” she answered, skeptical.

              “Look. It’s true that this whole thing started off as a bet I had with the guys.” He saw her expression sour quickly, but he continued anyway. “We were betting on how long I’d last trying to actually work at the hotel, so I posed as a worker for a day—which, by the way, is something I would never do again. At least, until you said you wanted to meet Keisuke again…” He looked off to the side, not wanting to meet her scrutinizing gaze.

              “Mr. Ichinomiya, what are you—“

              “Let me finish—please. I’ve come this far, so at least let me say my piece,” he implored her. 

              “I have no idea what spurred me on to continue my charade, but for some reason, I was compelled to see you. And I’m not talking about seeing you work at the penthouse every day. I mean the _real_ you. The you that knows the best places to eat, likes lavender vanilla soap, and buys people cake when they’re having a shitty day.” 

              He could feel her eyes boring holes through him, expectantly waiting for the rest of the confession. 

              “You’re always so guarded around me. And I get it. I was an asshole to you, so I probably deserved it,” he laughed bitterly. “But it felt… refreshing seeing another side of you that wasn’t so on edge all the time. I figured the only way you could be yourself around me was if I _wasn’t_ myself—or, at least, the me you see every day,” Eisuke continued on, his earlier hesitation slowly disappearing with every word.

              Her expression, however, still kept its suspicion. In fact, she took a step away from him, solidifying their present distance.

              “…I’m not sure what you’re trying to say,” she criticized, pursing her lips. “To be honest, I’m still having a hard time understanding everything. Why on earth would _you_ , of all people, go so far for something like that? Why are you doing all this when you have nothing to gain in retu—“

_“Because for some incomprehensible, goddamn reason, I want to be with you, okay?!”_

              She was catatonic. For a good five seconds, all she could do was attempt to process the insanity that came from his mouth. He, on the other hand, waited for any sign of a positive reaction. Would she accept, or—

              “No. No, no, no, _no_. You’re joking. There’s no way on earth you’d ever say something like that. _Especially_ not to me,” she uttered while shaking her head. 

              Was that possibility really that hard to accept?

              “Listen, ____. Do you really think I’d go through months dressing up as someone else, spending every single ounce of my free time with you, and telling you all of this sentimental bullshit, only for me to be _joking_? I’m completely serious right now.” His voice was bordering on stubborn desperation.

              She looked as if the very idea of him having any sort of romantic feelings for her was repulsive at best. And, to harden the blow, she took another step back.

              “Then why did you drag this out for so long? You could’ve just talked to me like a normal person instead of fooling me for months.”

_You have no idea how much I’ve always considered that._

              “Even if I did, would you have responded? Of course not. You said so yourself that you’d rather not be around me!” he yelled back. He remembered that one time she confessed to Keisuke what she really thought about him, and the memory always stung more than he would ever admit.

              “Because you go around doing stuff like this! You treat me like a slave, then all of a sudden, you pretend to be my friend, and then you tell me you want to be with me? What am I supposed to think when you keep confusing me like this?!”

              “Look, this was the only way I could think of without you hating me, okay?” He didn’t like how desperate he sounded.

              “No.” She shook her head sadly. “You just made it worse. All you had to do was be honest. I would’ve liked that a lot better.”

              For someone with a penchant for the complex and the grandiose, not once has it ever crossed his mind that maybe simple could actually work.

              Until now, at least.

              Both of them stood at the dimly-lit balcony in an uncomfortable silence. The noise in the ballroom was muted to a dull blur, and all he could hear was the erratic thud of his heartbeat. He could see that the moonlight gave her an almost ethereal, protective glow, making her seem like a nymph trying to defend herself from the greed of a hungry god.

              “I think—I really think we should go to how everything was before this all started,” she murmured so softly that he almost couldn’t hear it.

_No, no, no, no. Anything but that—_

              “What are you trying to say?” 

              “I don’t think this is going to work out. I don’t know if I can believe you after all this.” She wasn’t looking at him anymore.

_Don’t say what I think you’re trying to say—_

              “And…I don’t know if I can see you as anything else, Mr. Ichinomiya.”

              He was familiar with all kinds of pain. He knew the lingering pain of loss, the jagged pain of struggle, and the throbbing pain of loneliness, but nothing— _absolutely_ _nothing_ —ever came close to the stinging pain of rejection he felt at the moment.

              “Is that your answer?”

              “I’m so sorry.” And she meant it.

              “…Alright, then. Tomorrow, I’ll forget I said anything, and you’ll forget you heard anything,” he concluded.

              “Okay.” 

              The silence between them only grew more stifling every second they remained in each other’s proximity. If he was hiding his internal pandemonium behind a stony expression, then she was completely unreadable.

              “Good night, then,” he muttered. 

              She nodded in acknowledgement before turning to leave. About halfway to the door, she stopped.

              “You know, I really did enjoy our time together. For a while, I really did believe this was all real, and that you were a good friend,” she confessed. “Good night to you, too. And goodbye.”

              With one last swish of her gown, she was gone, leaving him cold and alone on the moonlit balcony.

* * *

              Trying to go back to the status quo was—well—difficult. His pride wouldn’t let him show any weakness, but he also couldn’t count the number of times he almost dialed up her number on his spare phone. Not to mention all the accidental, albeit lingering gazes he shot at her when he thought no one was looking.

              It didn’t help that he saw her almost every single day after that night. With a tumultuous storm of unresolved feelings, Eisuke did what he thought was the only solution at times like these—act coldly.

              The tension in the penthouse was palpable every time they were both in the room, and the other bidders could only pretend not to notice the obvious strain between them.

              “Would you guys like to order drinks?” she asked with her usual polite professionalism.

              If there was one thing Eisuke underestimated, it was her poker face. There weren’t any traces of that night’s events written on her, and she acted like nothing happened at all. She had more self-control than he gave her credit for.

              “I’ll have some hot brandy, if you don’t mind,” Baba piped up.

              “Green tea for me,” Mamoru said from his place on the couch.

              “Milk tea, please!” Ota voiced out.

              Soryu and Eisuke were still typing on their laptops, but the latter pretended not to hear her.

              “Soryu, would you like your usual jasmine tea?” 

              “That would be nice, thank you,” Soryu gave her a rare smile.

              She didn’t bother asking Eisuke for his drink. Either she already knew what to get him, or she, too, chose to deliberately ignore him before walking to the kitchen.

              The rest of the bidders cautiously looked over to Eisuke, who was currently busy trying not to pay any mind to their questioning stares.

              “So, uh…how are things with you, Eisuke?” Ota carefully brought up.

              “The same as always,” he replied with a bored tone.

              “You sure about that?”

              “Yes. Is there any reason at all you should be concerned?” Eisuke asserted defensively.

              “Geez, no need to get all pissy with me. It was just a question,” the younger man grumbled.

              After a few more minutes of an unusually quiet penthouse, she arrived with a tray full of their drinks. 

              “Oh, that looks heavy, ____. Let me help you with that,” Baba made his way over to her. 

              “No, you don’t have to, Baba. I’m fine,” she insisted, though her right hand was trembling slightly from the weight of the tray.

              “Nonsense, princess. I’ll lend you a hand—“

              “Leave her, Baba. She can do it on her own. It’s her job,” Eisuke scolded coldly. _Why the hell am I being so petty?_

              The thief gave Eisuke an unreadable glance. Eisuke knew he was being an unreasonable ass, but his pettiness won over his rationality at the moment. When he saw her chew on her bottom lip for a split-second, he almost regretted his childish outburst. Almost.

              “…Don’t worry, ____. I got it,” Baba announced, trying to lighten the mood. Unperturbed by Eisuke’s display, Baba smoothly grabbed the tray from her and walked to the coffee table before carefully placing the it on the table.

              She served their drinks one by one, starting with Baba. Eisuke watched her give them their drinks, and he noted, with a pang of regret, that she smiled naturally around them. Despite her being a worker of the hotel, she and the other bidders regarded each other with an almost casual familiarity. No wonder she was comfortable around them. 

_And now, she’ll probably never see me that way again._

              It was finally his turn to receive his drink. Without saying a word, she gingerly set a steaming mug of coffee on the side table next to him. The fragrance of the drink reached him, and he noted how it still held the same rich aroma it always had whenever she would brew him a cup.

              Despite everything, she still made him the best coffee.

              Very, very quietly, in a voice he thought she wouldn’t hear, he uttered a soft, almost indiscernible “thank you.”

              _This is the only thing I can do now._

Contrary to what he thought, she _did_ hear him, and all she could do in return was flinch for a fraction of a moment, until the voices of the other bidders brought her back to reality again.

              He took a sip of his coffee, but all he could feel was a dull, nigh-imperceptible pang of regret.

* * *

              Eisuke couldn’t stand being in the penthouse if he had to endure being ten feet around her while trying to fight all sorts of complicated feelings. For the past few days, he went out to have more business meetings out of the hotel, and, as an added bonus, he even asked Kenzaki to assign her jobs everywhere but the penthouse.

              Today was one of the rare times he had no meeting scheduled for the day. He and Soryu were alone in the penthouse, each idly typing on their laptops in mutual silence. Their personalities may have been an absolute contrast, but they were both natural workaholics.

              “You know, you’ve been acting strangely as of late,” Soryu commented, breaking the silence.

              _Oh, god, here it comes._

              “I’m like this all the time.”

              “So you’re telling me you like to hold meetings in second-rate hotels just to avoid seeing ____? Oh, plus I know you gaze longingly at her when she _does_ work here,” the mobster added smugly.

              Eisuke shot a death glare at his friend. Truth be told, Eisuke was probably the only one who knew just how mischievous Soryu actually was underneath his serious exterior. Maybe years of being affiliated with a narcissistic ass did that to people, Eisuke surmised.

              “Give it up, Eisuke. You’re forgetting I’ve known you for way too long,” he sighed. “By the way, when you ran back to god-knows-where after the meeting with that IVC patron, I had to clean up your mess. So you owe me big time. What the hell happened to you anyway?”

              “I just had to take care of something,” Eisuke curtly replied, still typing on his laptop. “Besides, what do you want from me now, Soryu? Do you enjoy purposely annoying me for your own amusement?”

              Soryu gave a derisive scoff. “Oh, that’s rich coming from you. I was just genuinely curious since ____ seems to be acting a bit guarded as well.”

_She is?_

              “What do you mean?” 

              “She was helping me the other day with some errands for the Ice Dragons, and she was fine until I mentioned you. She clammed up all of a sudden.”

              “Huh. So she did.” A small, childish part of Eisuke was secretly enjoying the fact that he wasn’t the only one affected by everything. 

              “Don’t pretend you don’t care,” Soryu chided. “Anyway, Eisuke, whatever the hell’s going on between you two, I have a feeling it’s your fault.”

              “I appreciate your valuable input I didn’t ask for.”

              Soryu, however, wasn’t finished yet. 

              “No, really. I’m guessing your stellar communication skills and down-to-earth humility started this whole mess. I don’t know what’s going on, but I do know it’s something you need to fix. I thought it was weird seeing you so nice to her, but seeing you act like this is even worse.”

              _Stop telling me what I already know._

              “When did you become such an expert, Mr. ‘I don’t like women’?”

              “I think I have more delicacy than you when it comes to women. Or, at least, when it comes to ____. You know, I’m not the only one who notices what’s going on. Everyone else can see it, too. Baba, especially.” 

              Eisuke couldn’t blame them. Though they joked around most of the time, they were sharper than they looked. It was only a matter of time till they pieced the puzzle together. Still, it irked him that Soryu, of all people, was sensitive to her plight. Eisuke knew that if anything happened to her, Soryu and the others would come rushing to her aid at a moment’s notice.

              It made him a both proud and a little jealous, honestly.

              “Why do you care?” the CEO retorted. He had to keep up a cold front, but Soryu knew better.

              “…She’s a good woman, Eisuke. You’d better cherish her. People like her don’t come around often, especially in our line of work.”

              It wasn’t every day that Soryu went around giving sage advice on how to care about people, much less women. Eisuke noted that she must have been someone important to Soryu if she was worth him getting out of his mobster shell and getting into the role of a friend giving advice. 

              “She deserves better than any of us, anyway,” Soryu ruminated wistfully.

              For an unsettling instant, Eisuke had to entertain the possibility that, maybe, he wasn’t the only one who carried a torch for her. 

              “…I’ll consider it,” Eisuke answered, finally giving his friend a good look.

              Soryu closed the lid of his laptop, returned Eisuke’s look with a hard glare of his own, then left the penthouse.

              Maybe Eisuke didn’t know his friend as well as he thought.

* * *

              On the not-so-rare occasions Eisuke was wrong about things, Soryu was probably right about them—provided, of course, that he didn’t agree with Eisuke. And well, all things considered, Eisuke _did_ realize deep down that his solution to his predicament was childish and cowardly at best—if he could call running away a solution.

              Besides, after knowing just how warm her smile actually was behind her usual tension, he didn’t want to go back to how things were before.

              Still, he wasn’t _that_ ready to give up some of his pride yet; there was no way in hell he was going to go up to her and apologize profusely. Instead, he would settle for doing what he did best—pulling the strings from the shadows.

              “Kenzaki, give ____ a day off on that day. She’ll be helping us with the IVC the day before, so she’ll need to rest the day after. Don’t forget to make sure she doesn’t force herself to come to work,” Eisuke ordered on the phone.

              “Of course, sir.”

              He was probably being obvious with his blatant favoritism, but at this point he couldn’t care less. She was still working as hard as ever, and she didn’t show any signs of slowing down. Considering how her workload included both the hotel and the auctions, she was practically overworked.

              “Also, double-check if the funds were transferred successfully,” he added.

              As an extra measure, he also made sure to sneakily give her a raise. For a while, he debated on whether to triple or quadruple her pay. He eventually settled on the latter, but of course, he would never let her find out. She’d check her bank account and discover it soon enough. 

              “Right away, sir. Also, I have taken measures to ensure the dormitory area is protected at all times,” replied Kenzaki methodically.

              Good. That took care of her safety, at least. The last thing he needed was to hear that she was in danger while he wasn’t present. 

              “One last thing,” Eisuke directed. “Can you order a cheesecake and have it sent to her dormitory later? If she asks where it came from, do _not_ tell her where it came from. Make something up if you have to.”

              _Maybe some sweets wouldn’t hurt, either._

              Kenzaki responded in affirmation before hanging up. After the long phone call, Eisuke plopped on his couch, trying to make sense of what he just did. It felt a bit bizarre to do all these things for someone else, but it was for her; just like Soryu said, she deserved better.

Still, even with the strangeness of it all, it surprisingly felt _nice_ to give her a hand. He should have done this a lot earlier. Not that he would ever admit it, but maybe Soryu had a bit of a point.

              Hopefully, her life would be a little easier.

* * *

              Despite how tempting it was to focus his entire attention on a certain problem, Eisuke still had to prepare for the IVC and the auctions. The guys were at the penthouse again for final preparations. Everything was the same as usual—Baba had done an inventory of the items, Ota appraised them, and Soryu and Mamoru were doing final security checks. The only difference was that this time, she was an active participant in the meeting. She would be the one to entertain the guests and report audience feedback.

              Accepting her as a member came with its own hesitancies. At first, the bidders all debated on whether or not to include her in the group—first and foremost, she was a civilian about to get involved in criminal activity. There was also the matter of her safety. She had too much exposure to the members’ classified information and other—well—dirty secrets. All of that knowledge put her at risk, especially with all the enemies they had.

              Still, her quiet persistence and unexpected resourcefulness proved how much of an asset she was to the group. Eisuke was secretly proud of her.

              “Um, I think we should triple-check the authenticity of the figurine,” she proposed, pointing to their latest item up for bid. “Not that I doubt Ota’s skills or anything. It’s just that it’s possible it could have been swapped for a fake while we weren’t paying attention.”

              “Oh, so do you doubt the security of the hotel?” Eisuke challenged. _Let’s see what she has in mind._

              “No. But with all the spies going around lately, it could be a possibility,” she shrugged back. 

              He had to pretend he wasn’t impressed. Even with all the stiffness between them, she still paid close attention to the affairs he had to deal with. It was hard not to stare at her while she looked so focused and attentive.

_Atta girl. You really don’t mix your business with pleasure, do you?_

              The others all gave their eager approval shortly, thus concluding the meeting.

              “Okay, Boss. We’ll be leaving. Looks like we’ll have to test out the pretty lady’s suggestion,” Baba announced, making his way to the door. The rest of the bidders also followed suit, each leaving the room one by one.

              Eisuke was about to pack up his things when a voice stopped him. _She didn’t leave yet?_

              “Can I talk to you about something?” she asked, her question echoing in the now-empty room.

              “If this is about the auctions, you don’t have to worry. I’ve taken care of pretty much everything, so—“

              “It’s not about that,” she countered firmly. Eisuke had a bad feeling about this.

              “Then what is it?” 

              She nervously fiddled with the hem of her uniform before answering him.

              “Why are you doing all this? Don’t think I haven’t noticed anything.”

              “Doing what exactly?” Despite the question, Eisuke had an inkling of what she was referring to.

              “You know what!” she quipped. “Giving me more breaks, transferring a ridiculous sum of money into my account—which, by the way, I’ll return to you—, and even having random guards stationed around the dorms!”

              “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” __

_Does she not like what I’m doing?_

              “I think it’s pretty obvious that you’re the only one who can do all of that. Besides, I thought we agreed to go back to normal. You being like this isn’t…normal. It’s almost like you aren’t yourself, you know? You’re more like—” 

              “Like Keisuke?” he interrupted. She immediately froze at the mention of _that_ name. “I think you’re forgetting we’re one and the same. Do you prefer I be an ass instead?” 

              “No!—no, but—gah! God, every time you do something, you just end up confusing me even more, and now I have no idea what I’m supposed to do anymore with you being like this—“ 

              “Then how the hell am I supposed to act like?” he ranted. “You’re not the only one who’s confused, you know! Why can’t you just accept it?”

_Why is it that you’re so hard to please when I’m trying to be nice to you? What makes it so different from when I’m in disguise?_

              “Look. I can’t just take everything you give me, okay? And, well, I appreciate that you’ve done a lot for me, but it honestly feels like a bribe coming from you,” she explained with a faraway look.  “I can’t tell if you’re being sincere, or if you’re just trying to buy my feelings.”

              That hit him _hard_.

              He vaguely had an idea that maybe, he was only following Soryu’s advice just to stroke his own ego. He didn’t really stop to consider the fact that he was overdoing anything, or that his help was unsolicited. Just like always, he failed to see the beauty in simplicity.

              “That’s not what I was trying to do, and you know it.”

              “You know what, Mr. Ichinomiya?” she opposed. “I have no idea what you’re doing anymore.”

              With those last words, she, too, left the penthouse.

* * *

              Their last encounter left an unpleasant taste in his mouth, and even the days leading up to the IVC were filled with him replaying the argument again and again, trying to figure out where things went wrong. Nevertheless, work was work, and he still had to oversee the preparations for the auctions. 

              Soon enough, the day for the auctions and the IVC party came, and things were going smoothly—perhaps even more smoothly than he originally planned. Almost all of the items up for auction were a hit, and judging by the profit earned from the buyers, things would end very well for him.

_At least I can control this part of my life_. He wanted to laugh bitterly.

              All he had to do now was converse with some of the VIPs he invited. The conversation cycle was pretty consistent—shake the other person’s hand, compliment their new business, give a fake smile, and use the fanciest lines to suck up to the other party.

              Even ____ seemed to be holding her own in the crowd. She told him before that she was bad with strangers, but seeing her striking up conversations with the other guests made him think she was lying.

              He had to smile a bit at that. When it came to doing work, she didn’t let her personal life get in the way.

              The party went on without trouble, until a scream was heard.

              “You skank!” a shrill voice yelled, followed by a distinct splash. 

              Eisuke snapped his head to the direction of the noise. Whoever the hell was causing a ruckus, they were going to regret it—

              When he saw the scene before him, he felt his homicidal urges spike. An angry, almost livid socialite stood there, tightly gripping an empty champagne flute. ____ was there, too. Only, she was dripping wet with the champagne splashed on her from the other woman.

              ____ kept a neutral expression on, but Eisuke could see how tightly-balled her fists were. Her nervous tics were coming out all at once, and she was biting her lips so hard, he thought they would bleed—

              His body moved before he could think, and he protectively stood in front of her, blocking anyone’s view of her. 

              “What seems to be the problem here?” He didn’t bother hiding his apparent distaste.

              “Oh, Mr. Ichinomiya!” the socialite exclaimed in delight. “I was just teaching this woman a lesson.” She pointed to ____, who furrowed her eyebrows in response.

              “And just what did she do?”

              “This little tramp thinks she can march up here, wear a fancy dress, and play make-believe? I know who she is. She’s just a commoner trying to fit in. She doesn’t belong here,” the woman stressed haughtily.

              A crowd was forming around them, and Eisuke could hear all the prejudiced murmurs being thrown at ____. From his peripheral vision, he saw her shrink back a bit and wrap her arms around herself. 

_Oh, they didn’t fucking dare._

              He grabbed a champagne flute from the nearest unsuspecting waiter. 

              “You might be inclined to think that she’s not worth anything, but I beg to differ.” He lifted up the flute, as if to make a toast.

              “Hey, what are you—“ ____ tried to grab his arm, but he stopped her.

              Eisuke splashed the drink on his own head, not even flinching at the crowd’s flabbergasted reaction.

              “She’s my equal. So, if you do anything to her, you automatically do it to me,” he smirked. 

_Because she’s worth more than I deserve._


	7. I'm Not As Strong As You Think I Am

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite everything, kings were still human.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm an asshole because it took me six months for this lmao

* * *

             

              Through his wet bangs, he could survey the pandemonium he caused.

              The whole party was in complete disarray with the crowd directing their full, unadulterated attention at his display. From his peripheral vision, he could see the auction managers in the corner of the room, not even disguising their shock at his boldness. In front of him, the socialite was seething. Her nostrils were flared, and her fists were clenched so tightly that he thought her hands would bleed from the sharpness of her manicured nails. 

              But unfortunately for them, none of that mattered right now. All he could see was red.

              Someone hurt ____. Someone hurt her because of _him_. If he wasn’t completely concerned with social protocol, blood would have spilled—and it definitely wouldn’t be his.

              “How _dare_ you, Eisuke Ichinomiya!” she screamed. “Don’t think that I’ll ever do business with you again in this lifetime!”

              “Good. I don’t need connections with a bitch who doesn’t know her place. Now get out of my sight before I call security.”

              _Get out before I do something you’ll regret._

              Eisuke believed she understood his unspoken message, otherwise, she wouldn’t have taken a step back at the ice in his voice. After he gave her one last scathing glare, she stomped off in a flustered huff, not even bothering to acknowledge the stunned crowd. If she planned on staying any longer, he wouldn’t have been able to keep his composure. His blood was still boiling, and _fuck_ , was this what Soryu felt whenever he pulled his gun out— 

              “Mr. Ichinomiya?” ____’s voice shook him out of his trance, bringing him back to reality. 

              He was suddenly hyperaware of the piercing stares from the crowd that formed around them. He could hear all the murmurs thrown at them, both overwhelmed and critical. Next to him, she wrapped her arms around herself, trembling slightly from the onlookers’ obvious disapproval. 

              Whether or not she did it on purpose, she took a step closer to him. It didn’t take long for his protective instincts to flare at the sight of her unconsciously pleading for help.

              _Ah, screw everything—_

              Taking ___ by the hand, he made a beeline for the exit. Eisuke didn’t even bother keeping up his polite pretenses anymore. He didn’t pay any mind to the gasps of the other hotel employees seeing their champagne-drenched CEO with a dark look on his face. Not even his phone’s incessant buzzing—Soryu, no doubt—could distract him. All he could do to keep himself from throttling everyone that stared at them was focus on the warmth of her hand.

              And well, not that he’d never admit it, but he missed holding that small, yet unmistakably warm hand.

              Despite both of them being sticky with the remnants of champagne, despite the incoming public humiliation he might face, and despite the day being an utter fucking disaster, he didn’t mind. 

              Everything was going to hell, but the fall into the inferno made him feel alive for the first time in a while.

* * *

              The silence of his penthouse suite was a welcome respite to them both. The buzz and chatter of the riffraff took a toll on him, and despite her lack of any complaint, he knew she probably needed peace after today, too. 

              They both sat on his couch, but he could tell she was still in a daze. There was something heartbreaking about the way she looked; her earlier updo Ota worked hard to style was now a mess of unruly curls, and the gown she wore—which must have eaten a ton of her paycheck—was wet with the champagne from earlier. Her eyes were probably the worst of them all—they were unfocused and glassy, completely different from the fire they had shown to him during their fight.

              He couldn’t tell if the sinking feeling in his stomach was guilt or pity. Whatever it was, he knew he didn’t like seeing her like this. It just wasn’t right. 

              Sighing, he picked up his phone. 

              “Kenzaki,” Eisuke ordered, “bring up a change of clothes for ___.”

              She shot up the moment she heard him. 

              “Wait, Mr. Ichinomiya. You really don’t have to do all of that—“

              “Too late, I already did,” he said, hanging up the phone. “More importantly, are you okay?”

              “I’m… alright. But what about you? God—you just made a huge scene that cost you a good business deal! And for what? Some silly reason—“

              “Listen—“

              “And your suit’s ruined, too. Shoot, looks like I’ll have to pay for the dry cleaning to compensate you—“

              “____!” he interrupted. She flinched at his stern tone.

              “None of that crap matters. _No one_ has the right to do that to you. If someone ever tries to pull that bullshit on you again, tell me right away, understand?”

              At first her expression was stunned, as if she couldn’t believe what he was saying. Although he didn’t blame her, it still stung knowing she didn’t trust him despite him genuinely trying to help. 

              “… Why are you doing all this?” she asked him cautiously. 

              Good question, he thought. He could say he was doing his duty as her boss, or that he needed to stop any interlopers from ruining the IVC party, but he knew better than anyone that his real reason surpassed any of that—he’d known it for a long, long time.

She was mirroring her words from the night they fought, but unlike before, he finally had an answer for her.

              “It’s what Keisuke would do, right?” 

              All she could do was gape at his reply. For a split second, she looked almost hopeful, as though the person standing in front of her really was the friend she’d believed in all these months, and not the tyrant who bought her at the auctions. Yet even if she wanted to say something, no words came out.

              _What are you thinking?_

              They both heard a knock on the door not long after, presumably from Kenzaki. 

              “You should probably get changed now. The guest bathroom’s beside my room,” Eisuke announced, making his way to the door. 

              “I really don’t think you have to do this…” 

              “And I think you’re better off going back home not wearing that,” he said, gesturing to her gown. “It wouldn’t be good if someone recognized you after tonight.” 

              She had no choice but to sigh in agreement. After taking the clothes from Kenzaki, she headed for the bathroom to change out of her gown. Once she finished, she gave him a small bow before turning for the door.

              “For the record, I meant everything I said back there,” Eisuke added.

              “… What do you mean?” she asked, her back still turned to him.

              “If anyone does anything to you, they do it to me, too.” 

              For a while, she stood still. If she was happy, upset, or skeptical, he couldn’t tell. All he could see was the slight tremble of her shoulders, and he hoped it meant more than just a chill.

              “Good night,” she finally said to him.

* * *

              That night, he couldn’t find it in himself to sleep properly, especially considering what went on earlier. He knew what he did today would probably cost him dearly, but somehow, he couldn’t find himself regretting his decision. People would surely use this against him. He’d have to ask the other auction managers to cover up this chaos. He might have to appeal to some potential clients and convince them not to pull their investments. There was so much he had to do to fix this mess, yet he still felt oddly confident. 

              From a logical standpoint, his actions made no sense whatsoever; there was no benefit to be gained by causing a scene. It just felt like the right thing to do at that moment, and if he was being honest, that was all that mattered to him.

              Suddenly, a ringtone went off, breaking Eisuke’s chain of thought.

              It came from his spare phone. Only one person could reach that number.

              He quickly opened the text, and sure enough, it did come from her. The text was simple and brief, unlike her normal way of texting, but this one meant the most to him.

              _(Thank you.)_

* * *

              “Man, that night was an absolute shitstorm,” Mamoru complained from the penthouse couch. 

              “You can say that again,” Baba sighed, taking his fedora off. “People wouldn’t stop asking me who ___ was and where she came from. God knows I had to use all my resources to keep the media from having a field day with her.”

              Eisuke inwardly had to thank Baba for that. Getting her dragged into his messes was something he’d been coming to regret recently, and last night solidified everything. It was bad enough that some of the company stockholders—who would soon mysteriously “disappear” from the company—were starting to question his authority and credibility because of a “lowly woman.” If the general public decided to target her as well, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.

              “I had to spend all day trying to convince some of our patrons to stay, you know? But enough about the IVC party,” Ota said. “I’m waaaay more curious about what made Eisuke here decide to pull a heroic stunt back there.”

              “Oooh, I wanna know too, Boss! You were so bold back there, standing up for ____!”

              Even Soryu and Mamoru, despite feigning apathy, seemed genuinely interested in what Eisuke had to say. 

              “I did it because I felt like it. That’s all.” And he wasn’t lying.

              It was an answer typical of him, but to anyone who knew him well, it held a much deeper meaning. Eisuke knew the other bidders weren’t dense enough not to notice the sparks flying between him and ____. As much as he tried to hide it, the others were too sharp to miss all the signs. Damn himself for being too obvious.

              Soryu, who was quiet the whole time, suddenly spoke up. 

              “You’re an idiot,” he rebuked.

              “Excuse me?”

              “You humiliated one of our biggest patrons, made a fool out of yourself in front of everyone, gave our enemies some ammo to use against us, possibly even ruined the reputation of the auctions,“ Soryu continued on, fixing a glare on Eisuke.

              “I said I’d fix this—“

              “And—“

              _Dammit, Soryu, why are you bringing this up now—_

“—you defended her honor.”

              Eisuke did not expect _that_. Soryu was giving him one of his rarely-seen smiles, and Eisuke was almost humbled at the sight of it. 

              “For once, you actually listened to me. Told you it’d work,” Soryu snorted. 

              The mobster stood up from his place on the couch before giving Eisuke a hard clap on the shoulder. 

              “Good job,” Soryu uttered in a voice only Eisuke could hear. “Maybe one of us does deserve her after all.” 

If Eisuke wasn’t mistaken, then this must have been the closest thing to a blessing from Soryu he would ever get. After saying his piece, Soryu left the room.

              “Whoa, what’s up with him?” Mamoru piped up. 

              “I think I know,” remarked Baba, smirking. “Seems like someone just passed the ultimate test.”

* * *

              Despite everything that happened that night, he knew he couldn’t just come up and see her right away. They weren’t exactly on good terms yet, and he knew that jumping the gun would only makes things worse for both of them. 

              Not to mention, all the bidders’ efforts at damage control weren’t enough. She may have been out of the media’s radar now, but he was still a target. The company was slowly losing faith in him after letting him have his way up till now. In fact, he could see most of the IVC patrons withdrawing their sponsorships after that night, despite Ota’s attempts at convincing them to stay. If he tried to see her again, the chances the media would find them and cause a huge scandal weren’t too far off. 

              So, with heavy reluctance, he gave her some space. He stopped trying to desperately get her attention. She still worked at the penthouse, but his attitude returned back to cordial professionalism and nothing more. The others thankfully understood and didn’t ask any questions about it. 

              Nevertheless, he was dying to know what she was thinking this whole time. She seemed comfortable going back to the status quo. True, there was still some awkward tension between them, but nothing along the lines of openly hostile anymore. Still, he wanted to believe he wasn’t the only one who felt like he was missing something. He’d never say it aloud, but he checked his texts every day to see if she sent a new him a new one. 

              Nothing, of course.

              He wondered how long he’d have to wait till the time was right. 

              If he was being honest, she seemed almost… happier without him. He knew he was torturing himself by doing so, but he sometimes followed her around to see how she was doing. Sure enough, she seemed to be getting back into the swing of things just fine without him. Around her friends and co-workers, her smile just seemed to naturally appear on her face.

              Hell, seeing her and her friends go out to the same places Eisuke and she went to made him feel a twinge of envy, and Eisuke Ichinomiya was _never_ jealous.

              _Dumbass, when were you both ever together?_

              He was being an idiot, but at times like these, he wished he was Keisuke. 

* * *

              Sometimes, he debated with himself on whether or not he should text her. He spent more time than he’d admit trying to draft a decent message.

              _(Be here in five minutes.)_ No. That bullshit wouldn’t cut it this time.

_(How are you? If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.)_ Too unlike him. She’d think he was being fake again.

              _(I’m miserable without you.)_ _Way_ too desperate for his tastes. Also, guilt-tripping was for five-year olds.

              He pondered a bit more, then typed up something else.

_(I love you.)_

_Hah. Like I’d ever send this._

              He smiled bitterly at his phone before deleting the draft. Looks like he’d go another day with an empty inbox.

* * *

              The weather that day was being an absolute ass. 

              Eisuke could hear the rumble of the thunder and the pitter-patter of the rain from his office at the penthouse. Unfortunately, all the weather seemed to do was make Eisuke’s shitty mood grow even worse. 

              He had just left a press conference deliberately set up to defame him. The press wasted no time in trying to humiliate him from every angle possible—the credibility of the Ichinomiya Group, the integrity of the Tres Spades, and even the legality of the IVC. Turns out that the socialite he messed with wasn’t part of the idle rich—no, she was crafty, and the strings she must have pulled for the press to bombard him with a barrage of deathblows was no laughing matter. It took everything in him to keep a smile on his face the whole time while plotting a homicide.

              _I swear, I’m going to end her when I’m done here._

              For someone who was used to being in the limelight, all the attention directed at him felt… wrong. It wasn’t as if he was normally affected by what other people thought of him, but seeing all the unabashed stares and camera flashes was starting to dredge back some memories he desperately tried to bury.

              A very long time ago, everyone stared at him like that, too. 

              He remembered the day he was adopted into the Ichinomiya family. He remembered his “father” introducing him to hundreds of family members and corporate executives. Their smiles were friendly and their words were kind, but he knew better than anyone that they were all watching his every move, waiting for him to make any semblance of a mistake.

              They all wanted to see him fall. Their hushed whispers said he was just a worthless boy living off a borrowed name, a sad little boy with no blood relations to his “father”—

              “Eisuke. This is bad. If this keeps up, we’re going to lose major profits,” Soryu began, interrupting Eisuke’s thoughts.

              _I know, just be quiet and let me think._

              “We’re lucky you managed to elude the press this much, but we need to do something before this explodes in our faces, Boss,” Baba added. 

              _Yes, I know already—_

              “God, I can’t believe we didn’t anticipate how much resources she had,” Ota blurted. “Also, what a dick move they did, asking about how legit we are—“

              “ _Shut the hell up and let me think, dammit!_ ” Eisuke yelled, silencing the others.

              They all gaped at him. Eisuke losing his cool was a rare occurrence, but it always meant something was amiss. Soryu was the first to speak up.

              “… We’ll leave you alone for a while. Call us if anything comes up.”

              Once they all left, Eisuke let out a sigh he’d been holding in. In the emptiness of the penthouse, he realized just how hopeless he was. After pushing everyone away, he was now truly and utterly alone. 

              How long had it been since he last had a shoulder to cry on? He couldn’t remember. 

_What a fool I was, thinking I never needed one._

              He was Eisuke Ichinomiya, CEO of the Ichinomiya Group and self-proclaimed king of the world, but he was human, too.

              Amidst the harsh beating of the rain against the glass windows, he knew what he had to do.

* * *

              He grabbed the wig and glasses from his closet and changed into his disguise as quickly as he could. It had been far too long since he last wore the blasted thing, but he couldn’t help the nostalgia that bubbled in him when he saw himself in the mirror.

              What he was about to do made no sense, but then again, most of the things he’d been doing lately made no sense either. He was running on autopilot, letting his instincts decide everything for him. 

              _Because at this point, fuck everything._

              Umbrella be damned, he ran through the rain to the employee dormitories. It was 11pm, and he knew that she was probably in her room at this time.

              Thankfully, the dorms weren’t too far, but he was still dripping wet the moment he got to her room. Bracing himself, he knocked on her door. 

              “Chisato, I told you to give me my charger back tomo— _oh_.”

              If he were her, he’d probably be surprised, too. He was completely drenched from all the running in the rain he did, his wig was stuck to his face, looking like a mop, and he was shivering from the cold. 

              “… Why are you here wearing… that?” she asked him tentatively. 

              _Oh, screw my pride._

              “Listen, I’m… sorry for everything up to now. I’ll leave you alone after this, I swear. Just… please don’t say you hate me.”

              They both paused for a while, and her lack of a reply was starting to dampen his resolve.

              “Um, Mr. Ichinomiya…?”

              “That’s all I was here for. You can go back to bed now. Sorry for disturbing you,” he apologized.

              He turned on his heel to leave, but he was suddenly stopped by a warm hand. He thought he was hallucinating until he saw that she really did grab his hand; the warmth felt soothing against his cold skin.

              “Hey… are you alright?” she inquired, looking genuinely worried.

              _I’m not. I’m cold, I’m tired, I’m lonely, and I just want to shut down for a while—_

              “—I’m fine.”

              She didn’t look convinced.

              “You can be honest with me, you know,” she chided him softly. As if in contemplation, she paused before continuing again. “… Do you want to stay here until you feel better?”

              He perked up slightly at her suggestion. Even after everything he’d ever done to her, from the day they met at the auctions up to now, she was still painfully kind to him. Her bleeding heart would be the death of him. 

              “Are you sure?”

              “I don’t know if I’ll regret it later on, but I don’t want to leave you like this.” She held his hand a little tighter. “Baba told me all the stuff going on around you lately, and, well, I can’t help but feel partly responsible for this mess.”

              _None of this is your fault. It never was._

              “Anyway, you can come in.”

              He stepped inside, and the first thing he noticed was the room’s signature interior. Nothing changed at all. The room was just so _her_ that he felt comforted by its mere ambiance.

              “You can go take a shower if you want,” she offered, handing him a towel. “Um, sorry, the only thing I have that can fit you are some sweatpants…”

              He wasn’t in a position to be picky, so he took the towel and thanked her before heading to the shower.

* * *

              The hot shower calmed him down. The bathroom was smaller than what he was used to, but he didn’t mind. Everything here just felt right. Maybe he was being a little creepy, but the feeling of being in her bathroom just soothed his nerves.

              Drying himself off, he wrapped the towel around his waist before opening the door.

              “What the… ?” he mumbled. The door wouldn’t budge even after multiple attempts at twisting the knob.

              “Shoot!” He heard her swear from the other side of the door. “I’m so sorry! I completely forgot to tell you that the bathroom lock’s been acting weird lately!”

              He had to smile at her clumsiness. Some things never change.

              “How do you get out of your own bathroom?” 

              “I usually just push until the door opens,” she explained. He made a mental note to have her door lock fixed. “If you push from your end and if I pull from mine, the door should open. Agh, god, I’m so sorry about this—”

              “… Wait. Let’s stay like this a while longer.”

              “Uh, pardon?” She almost couldn’t believe what she was hearing

              “Just—I want to talk like this. It might be easier if we can’t see each other.” _And I won’t have to see how disappointed you are whenever you look at me._

              “… If you say so,” she conceded. He plopped down on her bathroom floor and leaned against the door.

              They were both silent for a while before he began.

              “… I’m sorry, ____. I was an asshole for everything I did up to now—threatening you when we first met, treating you like a slave, lying to you about Keisuke, and letting that crap happen to you at the IVC party—I’m sorry for everything. You don’t have to believe me, but I just want you to know that I regret everything,” he confessed. 

              He waited a few minutes until she replied.

              “You know,” she piped up. “Sometimes I think I have the worst luck in the world. I mean, who would’ve thought that _I_ of all people would run into the auctions by accident?”

              She bit back a bitter laugh. “I also remember how scared I was when I first saw you all at the penthouse. You grabbed me by the chin, blackmailed me, and hung a twenty million debt over my head. I thought that was the worst day of my life.”

              “When I started working for you guys directly, I realized the others weren’t so bad. Sure, they had their quirks, but they still treated me like a human being. You, on the other hand, treated me like a slave. I mean, really, a five-minute time limit? Calling me from the other side of the hotel? Scolding me for not following your unreasonable orders? God, I… I think I really did hate you back then.”

              Her words hurt more than he could imagine, but everything she said was the truth.

              “But then one day, I met Keisuke,” she shared, sounding wistful. “He wasn’t cut out for housekeeping at all, to be honest. He was talkative, grumpy—a little awkward, too—but he was always there for me despite everything. I was really happy being around him, and for the first time in a while, I felt like I could be myself around someone.”

              Of course, he and Keisuke were one and the same, but the way she talked about Keisuke made him feel jealous. It was nonsense to feel envious of his own alter-ego, but it seemed she had no room in her heart for the real him. 

              Not that he blamed her.

              “… I was actually going to confess to him on the night of the gala, but you know how well that turned out to be,” she spat bitterly. 

_That_ surprised him. Either he was fooling himself into hearing what she just said, or—

              “When I found out that _you_ were Keisuke all along, I didn’t want to believe it. I felt so… _betrayed_. I didn’t want to accept the fact that the boss I hated and the one I loved were the same person—I mean, would anyone accept that? And when you did all that stuff to win me back, I just couldn’t stand it anymore. I thought there was no way I was ever going to forgive you after everything.”  

              Another bout of silence. 

              “I really thought I was going to live the rest of my life hating you,” she admitted with a slight crack in her voice. “But when you defended me back at the IVC party, you surprised me. ‘No way in a million years would Eisuke Ichinomiya step up to protect _me_ ,’ I thought. Yet… you still did. Everything you said back there—it all made me happy.”

_It hurts too much to hope, yet I still—_

              “So, to answer your statement earlier—I don’t hate you at all, you know?”

              His heart soared. The gush of emotions he kept in him for so long—regret, fear, jealousy, hope—none of them could compare to what he felt right now.

              He said nothing for a while, and for a minute, she thought she might have offended him. However, when she heard his small chuckles turn into full-blown laughs, she was stunned into silent awe because in the long time that she’s known him, not once has she ever heard him laugh.

              His shoulders were shaking uncontrollably, and he couldn’t control the tears that came with his laughter. It was raucous, boyish, but purely and undeniably _him_. If anyone were to strip him down to his very essence, removing all the masks he had to wear, this was probably the person they’d find.

              “H-hey!” she yelled. “I just spent the last few minutes spilling my heart out to you and you’re _laughing_?”

              “Pffft, I’m not laughing at you,” he breathed. “It’s just—god—you’re really something, you know that?” 

                It was ridiculous, really. Here he was, cross-legged on the floor of his employee’s bathroom, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist, and yet, he couldn’t bring himself to stop smiling.

* * *

              They managed to get him out of the bathroom later that night after much effort. He nearly landed on her—while he was still _shirtless_ , to boot—, but thanks to his reflexes, he avoided another sticky predicament.

              She set up a makeshift mattress for him next to her bed after the close call.

              “Sorry if it’s cramped in here. Do you want to take the bed instead?” she asked him. 

              The temptation was strong, but he was still a gentleman. 

              “The floor’s okay.” 

              Honestly, staying on the floor surrounded by all her blankets and pillows sounded much more appealing than staying on his lonely king-sized bed all night. He wasn’t going to complain anytime soon.

              She turned the lights off, and both of them got ready for bed. The only sound he could hear was the torrent of rain beating against the window outside. The rain, coupled with the cozy ambience of the room, made him feel calm.

              After a few minutes of staring at the darkened ceiling, her could see her arm hang off the bed slightly. Thinking she was asleep, he twined his fingers with hers. Much to his surprise, she reciprocated the action silently.

              _Your hands are always warm, aren’t they?_

              “One last thing,” he whispered into the darkness of the room.

              “Hm?”

              “Call me Eisuke.”

              With a slight chuckle, she replied.

              “Good night, Eisuke.”

              For the first time in a very, _very_ long time, he finally felt at peace.


End file.
